[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76768-76769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27954]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

[ATSDR-202]


Availability of a Guidance Manual for the Assessment of Joint 
Toxic Action of Chemical Mixtures and Nine Interaction Profiles CD-ROM 
[Final Documents] and Two Interaction Profiles [Drafts for Public 
Comments]

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Guidance Manual 
for the Assessment of Joint Toxic Action of Chemical Mixtures and nine 
interaction profiles CD-ROM prepared by ATSDR [final documents]. This 
notice also announces two additional interaction profiles that will be 
released as drafts for public comments.

DATES: The Guidance Manual and nine interaction profiles were included 
on the ATSDR ToxProfiles 2004 TM including ToxFAQs 
TM CD-ROM released in October 2004. The two additional 
interaction profiles [drafts for public comments] will be available on 
January 1, 2005. The comment period for the two additional profiles 
will be from January 1, 2005 to March 31, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written requests for the CD-ROM should be sent to the 
attention of Ms. Yulandia Jordan, Office of Communication, Agency for 
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Mailstop E-29, 1600 Clifton 
Road, NE., Atlanta, Georgia 30333 or by e-mail to [email protected].
    Requests for the guidance manual and/or interaction profiles must 
be in writing and submitted to the address mentioned above. ATSDR 
reserves the right to provide only one copy free of charge.
    In case of extended distribution delays, requesters will be 
notified.
    The documents will be also available on ATSDR's Web site at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please send comments or questions 
regarding information contained in the profiles to Dr. Hana Pohl, 
Division of Toxicology, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry, Mailstop F-32, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Atlanta, Georgia 
30333, telephone (888) 422-8737.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Six of the interaction profiles were 
developed by ATSDR for hazardous substances at the National Priority 
List (NPL) sites and three interaction profiles were developed by ATSDR 
for the hazardous substances at the Department of Energy (DOE) and 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) waste sites under 
Section 104(i)(3) and (5) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). This public law 
mandates that ATSDR shall assess whether adequate information on health 
effects is available for the priority hazardous substances. Where such 
information is not available or under development, ATSDR shall, in 
cooperation with the National Toxicology Program, initiate a program of 
research to determine these health effects. The Act further directs 
that where feasible, ATSDR shall develop methods to determine the 
health effects

[[Page 76769]]

of substances in combination with other substances with which they are 
commonly found. The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 requires 
that factors to be considered in establishing, modifying, or revoking 
tolerances for pesticide chemical residues shall include the available 
information concerning the cumulative effects of substances that have a 
common mechanism of toxicity, and combined exposure levels to the 
substance and other related substances. The FQPA requires that the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency consult with the 
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (which 
includes ATSDR) in implementing some of the provisions of the act.
    To carry out these legislative mandates, ATSDR has developed a 
chemical mixtures program. As part of the mixtures program, ATSDR 
developed a guidance manual that outlines the latest methods for 
mixtures health assessment. In addition, a series of documents called 
interaction profiles are being developed for certain priority mixtures 
that are of special concern to ATSDR. The purpose of an interaction 
profile is to evaluate data on the toxicology of the ``whole'' priority 
mixture (if available) and on the joint toxic action of the chemicals 
in the mixture in order to recommend approaches for the exposure-based 
assessment of the potential hazard to public health.
    All the documents were submitted to both the peer-review and the 
public review processes. Changes in the documents reflect those 
addressing reviewers' comments.
    The following documents were made available to the public in 
October 2004.

Document 1

    Guidance manual for the assessment of joint toxic action of 
chemical mixtures.

Document 2

    Interaction profile for persistent chemicals found in fish. 
Chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs), hexachlorobenzene, 
dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane (p,p'-DDE), methyl mercury, and 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Document 3

    Interaction profile for persistent chemicals found in breast milk. 
Chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs), hexachlorobenzene, 
dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane (p,p'-DDE), methyl mercury, and 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Document 4

    Interaction profile for 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 
trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene.

Document 5

    Interaction profile for benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes 
(BTEX).

Document 6

    Interaction profile for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead.

Document 7

    Interaction profile for copper, lead, manganese, and zinc.

Document 8

    Interaction profile for cesium, cobalt, polychlorinated biphenyls, 
strontium, and trichloroethylene.

Document 9

    Interaction profile for arsenic, hydrazines, jet fuels, strontium, 
trichloroethylene.

Document 10

    Interaction profile for cyanide, fluoride, nitrate, and uranium.

Two additional Interaction Profiles [Drafts for Public Comments]

    Interaction profile for atrazine deethylatrazine, diazinon, 
simazine, and nitrate.
    Interaction profile for chlorpyrifos, lead, mercury, and 
methylmercury.

    Dated: December 16, 2004.
Georgi Jones,
Director, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, National Center 
for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry.
[FR Doc. 04-27954 Filed 12-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P