[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51278-51279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19694]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2002-0127; FRL-7188-9]


Availability of the Tolerance Reassessment Decision (TRED) for 
Trichlorfon

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the tolerance 
reassessment decision document for trichlorfon. The trichlorfon 
document, referred to as a TRED, is the Agency's Report of the Food 
Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment Progress and 
Interim Risk Management Decision for Trichlorfon. The documents have 
been developed using a public participation process designed by EPA and 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to involve the public in the 
reassessment of pesticide tolerances under the FQPA and the 
reregistration of individual organophosphates (OPs) under the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

DATES: EPA is maintaining an open docket for trichloron under docket ID 
number, OPP-2002-0127. The Agency will place any new comments there for 
future consideration. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative 
that you identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on 
the first page of your response.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in 
person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as 
provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure proper 
receipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number 
OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on the first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Kylie Rothwell, Special 
Review and Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 308-8055; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to 
conduct testing of chemical substances under FIFRA or the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); environmental, human health, and 
agricultural advocates; pesticides users; and members of the public 
interested in the use of pesticides. Since other entities may also be 
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific 
entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document and Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically.You may obtain electronic copies of this 
document, and certain other related documents that might be available 
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. 
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and 
Regulations,'' ``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' and then look up the 
entry for this document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental 
Documents.'' You can also go directly to the Federal Register listings 
at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    To access reregistration eligibility decision (RED) documents and 
fact sheets electronically, go directly to the documents on TREDs table 
on EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs Home Page, at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration.
    2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for 
this action under docket ID number OPP-2002-0127. The official record 
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, and 
other information related to this action, including any information 
claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI). This official 
record includes the documents that are physically located in the 
docket, as well as the documents that are referenced in those 
documents. The public version of the official record does not include 
any information claimed as CBI. The public version of the official 
record, which includes printed, paper versions of any electronic 
comments submitted during an applicable comment period is available for 
inspection in the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch 
(PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., 
Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or 
electronically. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that 
you identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on the 
first page of your response.
    1. By mail. Submit your comments to: Public Information and Records 
Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and Services Division 
(7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    2. In person or by courier. Deliver your comments to: Public 
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources 
and Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 
Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The PIRIB is open from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB 
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

D. How Should I Handle CBI That I Want to Submit to the Agency?

    Do not submit any information electronically that you consider to 
be CBI. You may claim information that you submit to EPA in response to 
this document as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as 
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance 
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. In addition to one complete 
version of the comment that includes any information claimed as CBI, a 
copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as 
CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public version of the 
official record. Information not marked confidential will be included 
in the public version

[[Page 51279]]

of the official record without prior notice. If you have any questions 
about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    6. Offer alternative ways to improve the notice or collection 
activity.
    7. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this 
document.
    8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Registercitation.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    These documents were developed using the OP public participation 
process. The process was designed to increase transparency and maximize 
stakeholder involvement, and provides numerous opportunities for public 
comment. EPA has also conducted extensive outreach to affected parties. 
EPA is taking this action without a formal comment period. The public 
participation process for trichlorfon provided opportunities for public 
comment as EPA developed these decisions. To read more about the OP 
public participation process, see http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/process.htm. Below is a brief summary of EPA's interim decisions, which 
are fully described in the TRED or interim reregistration eligibility 
decision (IRED) documents.

A. Trichlorfon Decision

    EPA has reassessed risks from non-occupational exposure to 
trichlorfon through food, drinking water, and residential uses. 
Trichlorfon is not expected to pose risk concerns for these exposures 
provided that risk mitigation measures identified in the TRED for 
trichlorfon are adopted. Under the FQPA, EPA must review tolerances and 
tolerance exemptions that were already in effect when Congress enacted 
the FQPA in August 1996, to ensure that existing pesticide residue 
limits for food and feed commodities meet the safety standard of the 
new law. EPA completed a RED for trichlorfon in September 1995, prior 
to FQPA enactment, and therefore needed an updated assessment to 
consider the provisions of the Act. In reviewing these tolerances, the 
Agency must consider, among other things, aggregate risks from non-
occupational sources of pesticide exposure, whether there is increased 
susceptibility to infants and children, and the cumulative effects of 
pesticides with a common mechanism of toxicity. Once the Agency has 
considered the cumulative risks for the OPs, tolerances for trichlorfon 
will be reassessed in that light.
    The Agency also reevaluated the occupational risks for trichlorfon, 
based on newly submitted data associated with the current non-
agricultural uses. Risk mitigation measures to be implemented for these 
uses included:
    1. Limiting application of trichlorfon to tees and greens of golf 
course turf.
    2. Cancelling foliar application of trichlorfon to ornamental 
plants (only direct application to soil is allowed).
    3. Allowing only truck-drawn spraying of large ponds for 
ornamentals and bait fish, and requiring an on-off switch inside the 
truck cab.

B. Next steps

    EPA's next step under FQPA is to consider a cumulative risk 
assessment and risk management decision for the OP pesticides, which 
share a common mechanism of toxicity. Because the Agency has not yet 
considered the cumulative risks for the OPs, the Agency's interim 
decisions do not fully satisfy the reassessment of the existing food 
residue tolerances as required by FQPA. When the Agency has considered 
the cumulative risks for the OPs, then the tolerances for OP pesticides 
will be reassessed in this light. At that time, the Agency will 
complete the FQPA requirements for the OPs and, where required, make 
final REDs, which may include further risk mitigation measures.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: July 29, 2002.
Lois A. Rossi,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-19694 Filed 8-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S