[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20090-20092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5879]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0156; FRL-8064-5]


Alkylbenzene Sulfonates Risk Assessment and Preliminary Risk 
Reduction Options; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk 
assessment, preliminary risk reduction options, and related documents 
for the pesticide alkylbenzene sulfonates which

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encompasses sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate; dodecylbenzene sulfonic 
acid; and benzenesulfonic acid, C10-C16 alkyl derivatives, and opens a 
public comment period on these documents. The public also is encouraged 
to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks 
identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision 
(RED) for alkylbenzene sulfonates through a modified, 4-Phase public 
participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public in 
developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment 
decisions. This is Phase 3 of the 4-Phase Process. Through these 
programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and 
safety standards.

DATES Comments must be received on or before June 19, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0156, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502C), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2, 1801 S. Bell St., 
Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays). Special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information. The Docket telephone number is (703) 
305-5805.
     Important Note: OPP will be moving to a new location the 
first week of May 2006. As a result, from Friday, April 28 to Friday, 
May 5, 2006, the OPP Regulatory Public Docket will NOT be accepting any 
deliveries at the Crystal Mall 2 address and this facility 
will be closed to the public. Beginning on May 8, 2006, the OPP 
Regulatory Public Docket will reopen at 8:30 a.m. and deliveries will 
be accepted in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S. 
Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. The mail code for the mailing 
address will change to (7502P), but will otherwise remain the same. The 
OPP Regulatory Public Docket telephone number and hours of operation 
will remain the same after the move.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2006-0156. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The Federal regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through 
regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made 
available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA 
recommends that you include your name and other contact information in 
the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, 
any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index. 
Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly 
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, 
if only available in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at 
the location identified under ``Delivery'' and ``Important Note.'' The 
hours of operation for this docket facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The docket 
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Garvie, Antimicrobials 
Division, (7510C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0034; fax number: (703) 308-8481; 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, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide 
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, 
or use of pesticides. Since others also may 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. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI). In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes 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 docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.

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    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    EPA is releasing for public comment its human health and 
environmental fate and effects risk assessment, preliminary risk 
reduction options, and related documents for alkylbenzene sulfonates 
(encompassing sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate; dodecylbenzene sulfonic 
acid; and benzenesulfonic acid, C10-C16 alkyl derivatives), and 
encouraging the public to suggest risk management ideas or proposals. 
The alkylbenzene sulfonates are both active and inert ingredients in 
pesticide products. As active ingredients, they are currently found in 
end-use products as a disinfectant, food-contact sanitizer, 
bacteriocide/bacteriostat, microbiocide/microbiostat, fungicide/
fungistat, and virucide. As inert ingredients, they are found in end-
use products, many of which are used in residential settings, and 
outdoors in agricultural settings. EPA developed the risk assessment 
and preliminary risk reduction options for alkylbenzene sulfonates 
through a modified version of its public process for making pesticide 
reregistration eligibility and tolerance reassessment decisions. 
Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet current 
standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
(FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as 
amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
    The alkylbenzene sulfonates are both active and inert ingredients 
in pesticide products. As active ingredients, they are currently in 23 
registered end-use products as a disinfectant, food-contact sanitizer, 
bacteriocide/bacteriostat, microbiocide/microbiostat, fungicide/
fungistat, and virucide. Alkylbenzene sulfonates are in cleaners and 
sanitizers that are designated for use in agricultural, food handling 
and commercial/institutional/industrial settings. Examples of 
registered uses for alkylbenzene sulfonates include, but are not 
limited to: Application to indoor hard surfaces e.g., urinals, shower 
stalls, toilet bowls, etc., food dispensing equipment (e.g., pre-mix 
and post-mix vending machines), food contact surfaces (glasses, dishes, 
silverware, countertops, etc.), agricultural tools, and fruits and 
vegetables (post-harvest). As active ingredients, there are no 
residential or outdoor uses currently registered. As inert ingredients, 
there are approximately 350 registered end-use products containing 
these chemicals. Many of these products are used in residential 
settings, and outdoors in agricultural settings. The Agency's risk 
assessment identified dietary, residential and occupational risks of 
concern for some exposure scenarios. Because limited information is 
available for some exposure scenarios conservative assumptions were 
sometimes used in the risk assessment. The Agency is interested in 
receiving any information that could assist in refining the risk 
assessment.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide comments and input on the Agency's risk 
assessment for alkylbenzene sulfonates. Such comments and input could 
address, for example, the availability of additional data to further 
refine the risk assessments, such as ecological data to fill data gaps 
for aquatic toxicity studies for freshwater fish and invertebrates, or 
could address the Agency's risk assessment methodologies and 
assumptions as applied to this specific pesticide. Through this notice, 
EPA is also releasing for public comment its preliminary risk reduction 
options for alkylbenzene sulfonates, and is providing an opportunity 
for interested parties to provide risk management proposals or 
otherwise comment on risk management.
    EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income, in the development, implementation, and 
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help 
address potential environmental justice issues, the Agency seeks 
information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a 
result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may 
have atypical, unusually high exposure to alkylbenzene sulfonates, 
compared to the general population.
    EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all 
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The 
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public 
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14, 
2004, (69 FR 26819) (FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these 
programs, the Agency is tailoring its public participation process to 
be commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of 
the issues, and degree of public concern associated with each 
pesticide. For alkylbenzene sulfonates, a modified, 4-Phase process 
with one comment period and ample opportunity for public consultation 
seems appropriate in view of its refined risk assessment, few complex 
issues, and/or other factors. However, if as a result of comments 
received during this comment period EPA finds that additional issues 
warranting further discussion are raised, the Agency may lengthen the 
process and include a second comment period, as needed.
    All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, 
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments 
will become part of the Agency Docket for alkylbenzene sulfonates. 
Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked 
``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission 
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the 
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active 
ingredient are eligible for reregistration'' before calling in product 
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering 
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''
    Section 408(q) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(q), requires EPA to 
review tolerances and exemptions for pesticide residues in effect as of 
August 2, 1996, to determine whether the tolerance or exemption meets 
the requirements of section 408(b)(2) or (c)(2) of FFDCA. This review 
is to be completed by August 3, 2006.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Alkylbenzene sulfonates Pesticides and 
pests.


    Dated: April 4, 2006.
Frank Sanders,
Director, Antimicrobials Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-5879 Filed 4-18-06; 8:45 am]
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