[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24292-24294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8274]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128; FRL-8126-7]


Dazomet Revised Human Health Risk Assessment; Notice of 
Availability and Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Notice.

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SUMMARY:  This notice announces the availability and seeks comments on 
EPA's revised human health risk assessment for the pesticide fumigant 
dazomet. In addition, this notice solicits public comment on the risk 
reduction options paper for dazomet and EPA's benefits assessments for 
the soil fumigants. The Agency is also seeking comments on the 
ecological risk assessment. The public is encouraged to suggest risk 
management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is 
developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for dazomet 
through the full, 6-Phase public participation process that the Agency 
uses to involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and 
tolerance reassessment decisions. EPA also is concurrently assessing 
the risks of five other soil fumigant pesticides to ensure that its 
assessment approaches are consistent, and to ensure that risk tradeoffs 
and economic outcomes can be adequately predicted in reaching risk 
management decisions. The Agency is seeking the same input from the 
public on these pesticides on a similar schedule. Through these 
programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and 
safety standards.

DATES:  Comments must be received on or before July 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128, 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 (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., 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.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0128. 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 
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket 
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the 
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov web 
site to view the docket index or access available documents. 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

[[Page 24293]]

form. Publicly available docket materials are available either in the 
electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available 
in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One 
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The 
hours of operation of 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:  Cathryn O'Connell, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0136; fax 
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: oconnell.cathryn @epa.gov

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 
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 ID 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.
    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 making available the Agency's revised human health risk 
assessment and ecological risk assessment, initially issued for comment 
through a Federal Register notice published on July 13, 2005 (70 FR 
40339)(FRL-7721-8 ); a response to comments; and related documents for 
dazomet. EPA also is soliciting public comment on the risk reduction 
options paper and the benefits assessments for the soil fumigants. EPA 
developed the risk assessments for dazomet as part 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).
    Dazomet is used as non-selective pre-plant soil fumigant with 
fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal properties. It is 
used on strawberries, tomatoes, golf greens/tees, nonbearing crops, 
turf sites, ornamental sites, field nurseries, compost piles, and 
potting soils. Typical applications are made prior to planting to 
sterilize the soil. Dazomet may also be applied in a variety of 
industrial places such as paper mills, oilfield drilling muds and work 
over or completion fluids, and recirculating cooling water systems to 
control slime forming and/or spoilage bacteria. Dazomet is converted to 
methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in the environment, particularly in the 
presence of moisture, such as in soil after application. It is MITC 
that performs the fumigating activity. The volatility of dazomet in the 
environment and results of metabolism studies in plants assure that 
there is no reasonable expectation of finite residues to be incurred 
in/on any raw agricultural commodity when the products are applied 
according to label directions.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for dazomet. Risks of concern associated 
with the use of dazomet include bystander and worker risks. A complete 
list of the risks and the mitigation options can be found in the Risk 
Mitigation Options Document (docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128-0030). 
A Readers Guide has been created to provide an organizational structure 
to the dazomet docket, to allow readers to more easily access and 
navigate the various entries contained in the dazomet docket, and to 
facilitate public comment. You may find this guide at document number 
EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128-0029. In targeting these risks of concern, the 
Agency solicits information on effective and practical risk reduction 
measures.
    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, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be 
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of 
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide. 
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, dazomet is being reviewed 
through the full 6-Phase public participation process.
    All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, 
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments and 
proposals will become part of the Agency Docket for dazomet. Comments 
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late'' 
EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

[[Page 24294]]

    After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the 
dazomet RED.

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.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.


    Dated: April 25, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. E7-8274 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S