[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12996-12997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6624]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Proposed Criteria for Selecting New Environmental Chemicals or 
Categories of Chemicals for Analytic Development and for Inclusion in 
Future Releases of the National Report on Human Exposure to 
Environmental Chemicals

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health and 
Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Requests public comment on CDC's proposed criteria for 
selecting new environmental chemicals or categories of chemicals for 
analytical method development and for selecting additional 
environmental chemicals or categories of chemicals to appear in future 
releases of the ``National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental 
Chemicals'' (the ``Report''). The proposed criteria for choosing new 
environmental chemicals or categories of chemicals for analytic 
development and for including chemicals or categories of chemicals in 
future editions of the ``Report'' are as follows: (1) Independent 
scientific data which suggest that the potential for exposure of the 
U.S. population to a particular chemical is changing or persisting; (2) 
seriousness of health effects known or suspected to result from 
exposure to the chemical (for example, cancer and birth defects); (3) 
the proportion of the U.S. population likely to be exposed to levels of 
chemicals of known or potential health significance; (4) the need to 
assess the efficacy of public health actions to reduce exposure to a 
chemical in the U.S. population or a large component of the U.S. 
population (for example, in children); (5) the existence of an analytic 
method that can measure the chemical or its metabolite in blood or 
urine with adequate accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and 
speed; and (6) the incremental analytical cost (in dollars and 
personnel) to perform the analyses (preference is given to chemicals 
that can be added readily to existing analytical methods). After 
reviewing and incorporating public comments from this announcement, CDC 
will publish the criteria in their final form in the Federal Register 
along with a general notice requesting public nominations of new 
chemicals that satisfy the new criteria. The criteria will be used by 
experts to prioritize the nominated chemicals for analytical method 
development and for eventual inclusion in the ``Report.''

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 19, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Dorothy 
Sussman, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center 
for Environmental Health, Division of Laboratory Sciences, Mail Stop F-
20, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical Information: Dr. Richard 
Wang, Telephone 770-488-7950

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ``Report'' provides an ongoing 
assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to environmental 
chemicals using biomonitoring. (The ``Report'' is published by CDC 
under the authoritities 42 U.S.C. 241 and 42 U.S.C. 242k). For the 
``Report,'' an environmental chemical means a chemical compound or 
chemical element present in air, water, soil, dust, food, or other 
environmental media. Biomonitoring is the assessment of human exposure 
to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their breakdown products in 
human specimens, such as blood or urine. The ``Report'' provides this 
exposure information about participants in an ongoing national survey 
known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). 
This

[[Page 12997]]

survey is conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics; 
measurements are conducted by CDC's National Center for Environmental 
Health. The first ``Report,'' published in March 2001, gave information 
about levels of 27 chemicals found in the U.S. population. The 
``Report'' can be obtained at the following: www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/report/'; email [email protected] or Telephone 1-866-670-6052. In 
addition to those chemicals in the first ``Report,'' the following 
categories or classes of environmental chemicals will be in the second 
``Report:'' polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), co-planar and non-
planar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), persistent organochlorine 
pesticides, carbamate pesticides, dioxins, and furans.
    Future editions of the ``Report'' will provide detailed assessments 
of exposure levels among different population groups defined by sex, 
race/ ethnicity, age, urban /rural residence, education level, income, 
and other characteristics. Over time, CDC will be able to track trends 
in exposure levels. Future editions may also include additional 
exposure information for special-exposure populations (e.g., children) 
from studies of people through localized or point sources and from 
studies of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to varying 
levels of environmental chemicals.

    Dated: March 12, 2002.
Joseph R. Carter,
Associate Director for Management and Operations, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 02-6624 Filed 3-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P