[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75241-75243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32056]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7604-4]


Neurotoxicity of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): 
Discussion Paper

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability of discussion document and plans for 
conducting a consultation workshop on the Neurotoxicity of 
Tetrachloroethylene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of an External Review Draft entitled, ``Neurotoxicity 
of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): Discussion Paper'' (EPA/
600//P-03/005A). EPA will accept public comments on the paper within 60 
days of the date of this notice. The document was prepared by the EPA's 
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the Office 
of Research and Development.
    This document serves as background material for an EPA-sponsored 
workshop designed to consult with neurotoxicologists about the 
potential adverse effects of perchloroethylene. Versar, Inc., an EPA 
contractor, will convene a panel of experts and conduct a one-day 
meeting to discuss the available information and related issues in 
evaluating the neurotoxic potential of perchloroethylene to humans 
under environmental exposure conditions. Details of the expert 
consultation meeting will be announced at a later date.
    NCEA will consider the opinions of the individual consultants as 
well as the submitted written public comments in preparing an 
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Toxicological Review of 
Tetrachloroethylene. The IRIS document, which will evaluate all health 
effects and will estimate population risks, will be peer-reviewed at a 
subsequent time.

DATES: The sixty-day public comment period begins December 30, 2003, 
and

[[Page 75242]]

ends March 1, 2004. Technical comments must be postmarked by March 1, 
2004. An announcement of the date of the consultation meeting will be 
made in a forthcoming Federal Register (FR) notice.

ADDRESSES: The draft document is available primarily via the Internet 
on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea under the What's New and Publications menus. A 
limited number of paper copies are available from the Technical 
Information Staff, NCEA; telephone: 202-564-3261; facsimile: 202-565-
0050. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, 
mailing address, and the document title. Copies are not available from 
the contractor.
    Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or 
by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as 
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Technical Information Staff, National Center for 
Environmental Assessment; telephone: 202-564-3261; facsimile: 202-565-
0050.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. How To Get a Copy of the Document and Submit Technical Comments

    EPA has established an official public docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. ORD-2003-0014. The official public docket consists of the 
documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments 
received, and other information related to this action. Although a part 
of the official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. The official public docket is the collection of 
materials that is available for public viewing at the Office of 
Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the Headquarters EPA Docket 
Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 
566-1744, and the telephone number for the OEI Docket is (202) 566-
1752.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public 
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official 
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that 
are available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' 
then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. 
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public 
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic 
public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be 
placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in 
printed, paper form in the official public docket.
    For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is 
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, 
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's 
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public 
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the Docket will 
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where 
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph 
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief 
description written by the docket staff.
    You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or 
by hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the 
appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the 
first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are 
submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after 
the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' Late comments 
may be considered if time permits.
    If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed below, EPA 
recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail 
address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also 
include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM 
you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM. 
This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment 
and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance 
of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, 
and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a 
comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public 
docket. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment.
    Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to 
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go 
directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments. To access EPA's electronic 
public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page, select ``Information 
Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select 
``search,'' and then key in Docket ID No. ORD-2003-0014. The system is 
an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment.
    Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to 
[email protected], Attention: Docket ID No. ORD-2003-0014. In contrast 
to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an 
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to 
the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's 
e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail 
addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public 
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
    You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the 
OEI Docket mailing address. These electronic submissions will be 
accepted in WordPerfect, Word, or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption.
    If you provide comments in writing, please submit one unbound 
original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of the 
comments. For attachments, provide an index, number

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pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original 
and three copies.
    In addition to submitting written comments on the discussion paper, 
you will also have an opportunity at the consultation workshop to ask 
the experts their opinions and/or clarification of each issue to be 
discussed at the workshop. Details of the workshop will be announced in 
a forthcoming Federal Register Notice.

II. Information on the Document

    This discussion document and the consultation workshop of 
neurotoxicology experts are part of the preparation of an IRIS 
Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene, or 
perc) by NCEA. In a review of the published literature, NCEA has found 
that impairment of visual information processing and other adverse 
neurobehavioral effects have been observed in several studies of 
employees working in dry cleaning and metal degreasing facilities using 
perc. Two studies of people living near dry cleaning facilities have 
also shown neurological effects, and their exposures have been at lower 
concentrations than the occupationally exposed workers. The discussion 
document reviews the published reports of neurotoxic effects of perc in 
humans and animals and discusses the strengths and limitations of the 
evidence of neurotoxicity. NCEA decided to seek consultation of experts 
in neurotoxicology to get their opinions about whether these findings 
for perc and similar findings for other agents imply that perc exposure 
to the general population results in an appreciable risk of deleterious 
neurological effects.

    Dated: December 22, 2003.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 03-32056 Filed 12-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P