[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40904-40905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15349]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7783-1]


Consultation Workshop on a Preliminary Draft of the Framework for 
Metals Risk Assessment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
convening of a scientific peer consultation to seek expert opinion on a 
preliminary draft of a Framework for Metals Risk Assessment (Framework, 
EPA/630-P/04-068a). The meeting is being organized and convened by 
Versar, Inc., a contractor to EPA's Risk Assessment Forum. Meeting 
participants invited by Versar, Inc., will be provided with the draft 
Framework, covering areas such as environmental chemistry, exposure, 
health and ecological effects, and the bioavailability and 
bioaccumulation of metals. EPA and other government experts will also 
participate in the meeting discussions. Participants will be asked to 
suggest improvements to the document. EPA intends to revise the 
preliminary document based on the meeting discussions and then make it 
available for EPA Science Advisory Board peer review, interagency 
review, and public comment in Fall 2004.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 
July 27, 2004 and Wednesday, July 28, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
Members of the public may attend as observers, and

[[Page 40905]]

there will be a limited time for comments from the public. The 
Framework will be available to the public on or about July 7, 2004, 
from the Risk Assessment Forum Web site.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Key Bridge Marriott, 1401 
Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209. Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor, will 
convene the workshop. To attend the workshop as an observer, register 
by July 23, 2004, by visiting www.versar.com/epa/metalriskworkshop.htm 
or send an e-mail to Ms. Traci Brody of Versar at [email protected]. 
You can also call Ms. Brody at (703) 750-3000 extension 449, or send a 
facsimile to (703) 642-6954. Space is limited, and reservations will be 
accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be a limited 
time for comments from the public during the workshop. If you wish to 
make a statement during the observer comment period of the workshop, 
please check the appropriate box when you register at the Web site 
(www.versar.com/epa/metalriskworkshop.htm) or in your e-mail to Ms. 
Brody. Also provide Versar with one written copy of comments prior to 
the start of the meeting. Note that all technical comments received 
will be public information. For that reason, commentors should not 
submit personal information (such as medical data or home address), 
Confidential Business Information, or information protected by 
copyright. The draft Framework for Metals Risk Assessment is available 
primarily via the Internet at http://cfpub1.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recordisplay.cfm?deid=56752 56752. A limited number of paper copies are 
available from the Technical Information Staff (8623D), NCEA-W; 
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, draft Framework for Metals Risk Assessment (EPA/630/P-
04/068a). Copies are not available from Versar.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical inquiries concerning the 
draft Framework for Metals Risk Assessment, please contact Dr. William 
Wood, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Risk Assessment 
Forum (8601-D), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone (202) 564-3361; facsimile (202) 565-0062; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Development of the Framework to assess the 
risks of metals to humans or the environment was initiated by the 
Agency's Science Policy Council. An Agency Action Plan was previously 
reviewed by EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) in September 2002. The 
SAB emphasized the importance of focusing on the unique properties of 
metals as they relate to environmental chemistry, bioavailability, 
bioaccumulation, exposure, and toxicity. To inform these 
considerations, and to engage the external scientific community, the 
Agency commissioned external experts to lead the development of a 
series of issue papers. Drafts of these papers were made available for 
public comment in September 2003. Currently, the papers are being 
finalized. Publication of the issue papers is anticipated in Fall 2004. 
The peer consultation announced today continues to engage the external 
scientific community as part of the Agency preparation for SAB review. 
The interagency review and public comment period, which will be held 
concurrent to the SAB review, will continue to extend opportunities for 
stakeholder and public involvement.
    The Framework is a science-based document that focuses on the 
special attributes and behaviors of metals and metal compounds 
affecting human health and ecological risk assessments. The framework 
document will not be a prescriptive guide on how any particular type of 
assessment should be conducted within a U.S. EPA program office. 
Rather, it is intended to make recommendations and foster the 
consistent application of methods and data to metals risk assessment in 
consideration of the unique properties of metals.

    Dated: June 30, 2004.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 04-15349 Filed 7-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P