[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 73 (Monday, April 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 19481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9362]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6966-4]


Technical Workshop on Research Issues Associated With the 
Gathering and Use of Micro- and Macro-Activity Data

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 
meeting, organized and convened by E.H. Pechan & Associates, Inc., a 
contractor to EPA's Office of Research and Development, National 
Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), for external scientific peer 
consultation on research issues related to the gathering and use of 
micro- and macro-level human activity data. The meeting is being held 
by NERL to discuss the state-of-the-science on human activity data for 
multi-media, multi-pathway exposure and dose assessments and 
suggestions on additional research needed to improve the science.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on May 17, 
2001 and from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on May 18, 2001. To register to 
attend the workshop as an observer, contact Kathy Manwaring of E.H. 
Pechan & Associates, Inc. at 919-493-3144 x123, email: 
[email protected] by May 9, 2001. Space is limited so please register 
early.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the main auditorium of the 
Environmental Research Center of the Environmental Protection Agency in 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, located at the corner of T.W. 
Alexander Drive and Highway 54.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas McCurdy of EPA NERL, tel. 919-
541-0782, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In human exposure assessments, macro-
activities are general activity descriptors (e.g., ``cooking'', 
``playing games'') that describe what a person is doing in a particular 
location at a particular time. Micro-activities are those detailed 
activities (e.g., hand-to-surface, hand-to-mouth, and object-to-mouth 
contacts) that a person is engaged in during a macro-activity. 
Information on both macro- and micro-activities is important for 
accurately quantifying real-time multimedia, multipathway human 
exposures that account for dermal contact, inhalation, dietary 
ingestion, and non-dietary ingestion of pollutants.
    Although a fair amount of data on macro-activity information exists 
from surveys, micro-activity data are very limited and expensive to 
obtain via current methods and protocols. In addition, micro-activity 
methods and protocols are not standardized, so it often is difficult to 
combine the limited data that do exist into a coherent database. Thus, 
there is a need to discuss how micro-activity data should be gathered 
and reported for maximum usefulness in exposure assessments. There also 
is a need to determine if the existing macro-activity database can be 
used to provide useful estimates of micro-activity levels if a 
functional relationship can be derived between them for specific 
population groups of interest, especially children. Finally, there is a 
need to develop research protocols and strategies that simultaneously 
will provide integrated micro- and macro-activity data for human 
exposure and dose assessment purposes. Discussing and addressing these 
needs can help improve quantification of children's aggregate exposures 
to agricultural pesticides, as required by the Food Quality Protection 
Act (FQPA) of 1996.
    The purpose of the workshop is to solicit--after a sharing of 
information on the state-of-the-science regarding the subject issues--
individual written expert opinion of scientists and analysts on the 
research needed to address the collection and integration of micro- and 
macro-activity data in order to improve aggregate exposure and dose 
assessments of multimedia, multipathway chemicals. NERL specifically is 
not interested in obtaining a consensus, or joint, recommendation from 
the meeting participants and observers regarding a possible NERL 
research strategy/program to obtain better micro-, 
macro-, or integrated activity information; developing such a strategy 
and program is an inherently governmental function. The Laboratory is 
interested, however, in eliciting expert views on what data are needed, 
and what approaches and methods should be used to most effectively 
obtain these data.

    Dated: March 21, 2001.
Jewel Morris,
Acting Deputy Director, National Exposure Research Laboratory.
[FR Doc. 01-9362 Filed 4-13-01; 8:45 am]
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