[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35028-35029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14367]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7778-6]


Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (External Review 
Draft)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of drafts of chapters for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: On or about June 21, 2004, the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA), within EPA's Office of Research and 
Development, will make available for public review and comment revised 
drafts of Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of EPA's document Air Quality Criteria 
for Particulate Matter, which incorporate revisions made in response to 
earlier external review of those chapters. Under sections 108 and 109 
of the Clean Air Act, the purpose of this document is to provide an 
assessment of the latest scientific information on the effects of 
airborne particulate matter (PM) on the public health and welfare for 
use in EPA's current review of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) for PM.

DATES: Comments on the draft chapters must be submitted in writing no 
later than July 20, 2004. Send the written comments to the Project 
Manager for Particulate Matter, National Center for Environmental 
Assessment--RTP (B243-01), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

ADDRESSES: The revised Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of the Air Quality Criteria 
for Particulate Matter will be available on CD ROM from NCEA-RTP. 
Contact Ms. Diane Ray by phone (919-541-3637), fax (919-541-1818), or 
e-mail ([email protected]) to request these chapters. Please provide 
the document's title, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, and 
the EPA numbers for each of the three revised chapters (EPA/600/P-99/
002aE, EPA/600/P-99/002bE), as well as your name and address, to 
properly process your request. Internet users will be able to download 
a copy from the NCEA home page. The URL is http://www.epa.gov/ncea/. 
Hard copies of the revised chapters can also be made available upon 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Robert Elias, National Center for 
Environmental Assessment--RTP (B243-01), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone: 919-541-4167; fax: 
919-541-1818; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is in the process of updating and 
revising, where appropriate, its Air Quality Criteria for Particulate 
Matter as issued in 1996 (usually referred to as the ``Criteria 
Document''). Sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act require that EPA 
carry out a periodic review and revision, where appropriate, of the air 
quality criteria and national ambient air

[[Page 35029]]

quality standards (NAAQS) for ``criteria'' air pollutants such as PM. 
Details of EPA's plans for the review of the NAAQS for PM were 
initially announced in a previous Federal Register notice (62 FR 55201, 
October 23, 1997). EPA made a first external review draft of the 
updated Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter available for 
review by the Clean Air Act Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and 
members of the public in October 1999 (64 FR 57884, October 27, 1999). 
Following that public review period and a meeting of the CASAC in 
December 1999 (64 FR 61875, November 15, 1999), EPA revised the 
document as appropriate to incorporate CASAC and public comments, as 
well as to reflect many new studies on the effects of PM that were not 
available in time for discussion in the first external review draft.
    EPA then made a second external review draft of the Air Quality 
Criteria for Particulate Matter available for CASAC and public review 
in April 2001 (66 FR 18929, April 12, 2001). Following that public 
review period and a second CASAC meeting in July 2001 (66 FR 34924, 
July 2, 2001), EPA again revised the document as appropriate to 
incorporate changes in response to CASAC and public comments and also 
made further revisions reflecting new studies on effects of particulate 
matter that had become available between issuance of the first and 
second external review drafts.
    EPA then made a third external review draft of the Air Quality 
Criteria for Particulate Matter available for CASAC and public review 
in May 2002 (67 FR 31303, May 9, 2002). Following that public review 
period and a third CASAC meeting in July 2002 (67 FR 41723, June 19, 
2002), EPA again revised the document as appropriate to incorporate 
revisions in response to CASAC and public comments and also made 
further revisions reflecting new studies on effects of particulate 
matter that had become available between issuance of the second and 
third external review drafts, as well as re-analyses of certain 
existing studies occasioned after discovery of problems with 
applications of statistical software.
    EPA made a fourth external review draft available for CASAC and 
public review in June 2003 (68 FR 36985, June 20, 2003). A public 
meeting with CASAC was held August 25-26, 2003 (68 FR 47061, August 7, 
2003), during which CASAC reached closure on Chapters 1,2,3,4,5, and 6, 
with only relatively minor final revisions to be made. No further 
public review is requested on these chapters. However, CASAC did not 
reach closure on Chapters 7 (toxicology), 8 (epidemiology), and 9 
(integrative synthesis), each of which were to be more extensively 
revised or, in the case of Chapter 9, significantly restructured.
    In December 2003, EPA made revised drafts of Chapters 7 and 8 
available for CASAC and public review (68 FR 75240, December 30, 2003). 
These two revised draft chapters were reviewed by CASAC via a 
publically accessible teleconference call on February 3, 2004 (69 FR 
657, January 6, 2004). However, CASAC did not reach closure on Chapters 
7 or 8, leading to further revisions of each that are now being 
released for further public comment and CASAC review.
    These three revised draft chapters will be reviewed by CASAC on 
July 20 and 21, 2004. The date and arrangements for the CASAC meeting 
were announced in the Federal Register on June 9, 2004 (69 FR 32344).

    Dated: June 17, 2004.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 04-14367 Filed 6-22-04; 8:45 am]
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