[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 60 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14808-14810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5801]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0241; FRL-8293-6]


Draft Toxicological Review of Nitrobenzene (CASRN 98-95-3): In 
Support of the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of External Peer-Review Panel Meeting and Public Comment 
Period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and 
Education (ORISE), under an agreement between the Department of Energy 
and EPA, will convene an independent panel of experts and organize and 
conduct an external peer-review workshop to review the external review 
draft document titled, ``Toxicological Review of Nitrobenzene: In 
Support of Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS).'' The EPA also is announcing a public comment period for 
the external review draft document.
    The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop are 
separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested 
parties to comment on the document. In addition to consideration by 
EPA, all public comments submitted in accordance with this notice will 
also be forwarded to ORISE for consideration by the external peer-
review panel prior to the workshop.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination. ORISE invites the public to register to attend 
this workshop as observers. In addition, ORISE invites the public to 
give brief oral comments at the workshop regarding the draft document 
under review. The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are 
available via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's (NCEA's) home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. When finalizing the 
draft document, EPA will consider ORISE's report of the comments and 
recommendations from the external peer-review workshop and any public

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comments that EPA receives in accordance with this notice.

DATES: The external peer-review panel workshop will begin on May 15, 
2007, at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. The public comment period 
begins March 29, 2007 and ends April 30, 2007. Technical comments 
should be in writing and must be received by EPA by April 30, 2007. 
Comments received from the public by this date will be submitted to the 
external peer-review panel prior to the workshop.

ADDRESSES: The external peer-review workshop will be held at the 
American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, Washington, DC. ORISE 
is organizing, convening, and conducting the peer-review workshop. To 
attend the workshop and/or provide brief oral comments, you must 
register by May 1, 2007, via the Internet at http://www.orau.gov/nitrobenzene. You may also register by calling ORISE at 865-576-2922, 
sending a facsimile to 865-241-3168, or sending an e-mail to Margaret 
Lyday at [email protected].
    The draft document, ``Toxicological Review of Nitrobenzene: In 
Support of Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS)'' is available via the Internet on NCEA's home page under 
the Recent Additions and the Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from NCEA's 
Technical Information Staff (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. Copies are not available 
from ORISE.
    Comments may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the peer-review 
workshop, contact Margaret Lyday by mail: Oak Ridge Institute for 
Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117; phone: 
865-576-2922; facsimile: 865-241-3168; or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of 
Environmental Information Docket by phone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 
202-566-1753; or e-mail: [email protected].
    If you have questions about the document, contact Dr. Stedeford, 
IRIS Staff, National Center for Environmental Assessment, by mail: U.S. 
EPA (8601D), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
phone: 202-564-2066; facsimile: 202-565-0075; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary of Information About the Integrated Risk Information System 
(IRIS)

    IRIS is a database that contains information regarding potential 
adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) 
exposure to specific chemical substances found in the environment. The 
database (available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/iris) 
contains qualitative and quantitative health effects information for 
more than 540 chemical substances that may be used to support the first 
two steps (hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of a 
risk assessment process. When supported by available data, the database 
provides oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference 
concentrations (RfCs) for chronic health effects, and oral slope 
factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. Combined 
with specific exposure information, government and private entities can 
use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical 
substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support risk 
management decisions designed to protect public health.

II. Workshop Information

    Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and 
there will be a limited time for comments from the public. If you wish 
to make oral comments during the review, you must pre-register at 
http://www.orau.gov/nitrobenze by May 1, 2007. Space is limited and 
reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

III. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-
0241 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 
202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information. Consult EPA's Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm for current information on 
docket operations, locations, and telephone numbers.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2007-0241. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 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 http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public 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

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viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the 
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: March 26, 2007.
David Bussard,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E7-5801 Filed 3-28-07; 8:45 am]
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