[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1977-1978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-954]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7128-8]


Workshop Report on the Application of 2,3,7,8-TCDD Toxicity 
Equivalence Factors to Fish and Wildlife

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final report.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Risk 
Assessment Forum (RAF) announces the availability of a final report, 
Workshop Report on the Application of 2,3,7,8-TCDD Toxicity Equivalence 
Factors to Fish and Wildlife (EPA/630/R-01/002, August 2001). It is the 
report of a January 20-22, 1998, workshop sponsored by EPA and the U.S. 
Department of the Interior (DOI). The Eastern Research Group, Inc. 
(ERG), an EPA contractor, organized, convened, and conducted the 
workshop on EPA's behalf. Workshop participants concluded that the 
toxicity equivalence methodology is appropriate for

[[Page 1978]]

evaluating risks to fish, birds, and mammals from mixtures of dioxins, 
furans, and PCBs.

ADDRESSES: The document will be made available electronically through 
the Risk Assessment Forum's Web site (www.epa.gov/ncea/raf/rafpub.htm). 
A limited number of paper copies will be available from the EPA's 
National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP), PO Box 
42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242; telephone: 1-800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190; 
facsimile: 513-489-8695. Please provide your name and mailing address 
and the title and EPA number of the requested publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Schwenk, Risk Assessment Forum 
Staff (8601D), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20460; telephone: 202-564-6667; facsimile: 
202-565-0062; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 1998, a planning committee of EPA 
and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) sponsored a workshop on 
the application of 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxicity equivalence factors (TEFs) to 
fish and wildlife. TEFs are tools for estimating the combined risks 
from exposure to complex mixtures of polychlorinated dioxins (PCDDs), 
furans (PCDFs), and biphenyls (PCBs). The primary objective of the 
workshop was to identify, document, and compare uncertainties in TEF 
development and their impact in ecological risk assessments. The 20 
invited workshop participants, seven of whom were from other countries, 
came from academia, industry, public interest groups, and government. 
In addition, eight EPA and four DOI planning committee members 
participated. Major conclusions included:
    --The toxicity equivalence methodology is technically appropriate 
for evaluating risks to fish, birds, and mammals.
    --The toxicity equivalence methodology reduces uncertainties and is 
less likely to underestimate risks than are methods based on a single 
compound (e.g., 2,3,7,8-TCDD) or a class of compounds (e.g., total 
PCBs).
    --The uncertainties associated with using relative potencies (RePs) 
or TEFs are not thought to be larger than other uncertainties within 
the risk assessment process, but they should be better quantified.
    The planning committee concluded that the results of the workshop 
support the use of the toxicity equivalence methodology in ecological 
risk assessment. The committee also suggested the development of 
additional tools and data to improve the methodology's implementation.
    The final workshop report consists of (1) an overview and set of 
conclusions prepared by EPA and DOI and (2) a complete set of workshop 
materials, including case studies discussed at the workshop, workshop 
proceedings, pre-meeting comments from the invited experts, and written 
observer comments.

    Dated: December 20, 2001.
George W. Alapas,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 02-954 Filed 1-14-02; 8:45 am]
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