[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45545-45546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12957]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8207-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Public 
Meetings of the Science Advisory Board Radiation Advisory Committee 
(RAC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces 
two public meetings of the SAB Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) to 
conduct an advisory on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA) draft White Paper: Modifying 
EPA Radiation Risk Models Based on BEIR VII and other committee 
business.

DATES: The SAB Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a public 
teleconference on Wednesday, September 6, 2006 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
and a public face-to-face meeting on September 26 through September 28, 
2006. A public face-to face meeting of the SAB Radiation Advisory 
Committee (RAC) will be held on September 28, 2006 following completion 
of the advisory on the draft White Paper, where the RAC will be briefed 
on ORIA activities and will plan upcoming meetings of the SAB's RAC. 
The final agendas for these public meetings will be posted on the SAB's 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

ADDRESSES: The public teleconference meeting of September 6, 2006 will 
take place via telephone only. The September 26--28, 2006 meeting will 
take place at the Science Advisory Board's Conference Room Suite 
3700, located at 1025 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain the call-in number and access code for the public teleconference 
meeting, or further information concerning the face-to-face public 
meeting may contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer 
(DFO), by mail at the EPA SAB Staff Office (1400F), U.S. EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; by telephone at (202) 
343-9984; by fax at (202) 233-0643; or by e-mail at: 
[email protected]. General information concerning the SAB can be 
found on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Technical Contact: For questions and information concerning the 
Agency's draft document being reviewed, contact Dr. Mary E. Clark, U.S. 
EPA, ORIA by telephone at (202) 343-9348, fax at (202) 243-2395, or e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: The EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA) 
requested the SAB to provide advice on a draft White Paper: Modifying 
EPA Radiation Risk Models Based on BEIR VII, dated August 2006. In 
1994, EPA published a report, referred to as the ``Blue Book,'' which 
lays out EPA's methodology for quantitatively estimating radiogenic 
cancer risks: http://epa.gov/radiation/docs/assessment/402-r-93-076.pdf. A follow-on report made minor adjustments to the previous 
estimates and presented a partial analysis of the uncertainties in the 
numerical estimates: http://epa.gov/radiation/docs/assessment/402-r-99-003.pdf. Finally, the Agency published Federal Guidance Report 13: 
http://epa.gov/radiation/docs/federal/402-r-99-001.pdf which utilized 
the previously published cancer risk models, in conjunction with 
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) dosimetric 
models and U.S. usage patterns, to obtain cancer risk estimates for 
over 800 radionuclides, and for several exposure pathways updated at 
http://epa.gov/radiation/federal/techdocs.htm#report13.
    The National Research Council (NRC 2006) recently released Health 
Risks from Exposure to Low levels of Ionizing Radiation BEIR VII Phase 
2 which primarily addresses cancer and genetic risks from low doses of 
low-LET radiation (BEIR VII) (NRC 2006 http://newton.nap.edu/catalog/11340.html#toc). In the EPA draft White Paper: Modifying EPA Radiation 
Risk Models Based on BEIR VII, the Agency proposes changes to EPA's 
methodology for estimating radiogenic cancers, based on the contents of 
BEIR VII. The Agency expects to adopt the models and methodology 
recommended in BEIR VII, but believes that certain modifications and 
expansions are desirable or necessary for EPA's purposes. EPA's ORIA 
staff is seeking this Advisory from the Agency's SAB Radiation Advisory 
Committee (RAC) to obtain advice on the application of BEIR VII and on 
issues relating to these modifications and expansions.
    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 
92-463, the SAB Staff Office hereby gives notice of one public 
teleconference meeting and one face-to-face meeting of the SAB 
Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC). The SAB was established by 42 
U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice, 
consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the 
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The RAC will 
comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB procedural 
policies.
    The purpose of the teleconference is to: introduce the subject; 
determine if the review and background materials provided are adequate 
to respond to the charge questions directed to the SAB's RAC; receive 
public statements; and to discuss assignments to the RAC members in 
preparation for developing its draft advisory. The purpose of the 
meeting is to: receive presentations by the ORIA Staff; deliberate on 
the charge questions; receive public statements; and draft an advisory 
in response to the charge questions pertaining to the draft White 
Paper. Additionally, the RAC will receive briefings on ORIA activities, 
and will discuss plans for future activities.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: A roster and biosketches of the 
RAC members, the meeting agenda, and the charge to the SAB's RAC will 
be posted on the SAB Web site at (http://www.epa.gov/sab) prior to each 
meeting. Additional background information on this review include the 
draft White Paper (available at: http://epa.gov/radiation/news/recentadditions.htm) and background materials, such as the BEIR VII 
document (available at http://newton.nap.edu/catalog/11340.html#toc). 
The RAC was initially briefed on the BEIR VII draft White Paper topic 
at its planning meeting of December 21, 2005 which was held at the 
National Air and Environmental Radiation Laboratory (NAERL) Laboratory 
in Montgomery, Alabama (see notification of a public teleconference and 
meeting 70 Fed. Reg. 69550, November 16, 2005). These notices, the 
charge to the RAC, and other supplemental information may be found at 
the SAB's Web site (http://www.sab.gov/sab).
    Persons who wish to obtain additional background materials on the 
draft White

[[Page 45546]]

Paper may find them at the following Web site: http://epa.gov/radiation/news/recentadditions.htm. Copies of the materials provided to 
the RAC, including the Agency's draft document entitled ``White Paper: 
Modifying EPA Radiation Risk Models Based on BEIR VII,'' dated August 
2006, as well as briefing materials and other background materials 
pertinent to the activities announced in this notice may be requested 
from Dr. Mary E. Clark of the U.S. EPA, ORIA by telephone at (202) 343-
9348, fax at (202) 243-2395, or e-mail at [email protected].
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB 
Panel to consider during the advisory process. Oral Statements: In 
general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a 
public teleconference will be limited to three minutes per speaker with 
no more than a total of fifteen minutes for all speakers. For face-to-
face meetings, in general, individuals or groups requesting an oral 
presentation at a public face-to-face meeting will be limited to five 
minutes per speaker. Interested parties should contact the DFO, contact 
information provided above, in writing via e-mail seven days prior to 
the teleconference meeting date. For the September 6, 2006 
teleconference meeting, the deadline is Wednesday, August 30, 2006. For 
the September 26 to 28, 2006 meeting, the deadline is Tuesday, 
September 19, 2006 to be placed on the public speaker list. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office seven days prior to the teleconference meeting. For the 
September 6, 2006 teleconference meeting, the deadline is Wednesday, 
August 30, 2006; for the September 26 to 28, 2006 meeting the deadline 
is Tuesday, September 19, 2006, so that the information may be made 
available to the SAB's RAC for their consideration. Written statements 
should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: one hard copy 
with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail to 
[email protected] (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat, 
WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP 
format).
    Meeting Accommodations: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact the DFO, contact 
information provided above. To request accommodation of a disability, 
please contact the DFO, preferably at least 10 days prior to the 
meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

    Dated: July 31, 2006.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Associate Director for Science, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff 
Office.
[FR Doc. E6-12957 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am]
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