[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24294-24295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8275]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0123; FRL-8124-8]


Methyl Bromide Revised Human Health Risk Assessment for Soil, 
Greenhouses, and Residential/Structural Uses, Notice of Availability, 
and Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options (Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process)

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 methyl 
bromide. In addition, this notice solicits public comment on two risk 
mitigation options documents for methyl bromide and EPA's preliminary 
benefits assessments. The Agency is also seeking comments on the 
ecological risk assessment which, based on public comments in phase 3, 
was not revised. 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 the methyl bromide soil, 
greenhouses, and residential/structural uses 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 completed a red for commodity uses of methyl bromide, 
including uses that have tolerances, in August 2006. EPA also is 
concurrently assessing the risks of five other fumigant pesticides that 
also have soil uses 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. 
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-2005-0123, 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-
2005-0123. 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 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: Steven Weiss, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8293; fax 
number: (703) 308-8005; 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

[[Page 24295]]

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 
40336)] [(FRL-7721-3 )]; a response to comments; and related documents 
for methyl bromide. EPA also is soliciting public comment on two risk 
mitigation options documents and benefits assessments for methyl 
bromide. EPA developed the risk assessments for methyl bromide 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).
    Methyl bromide is primarily used on terrestrial non-food use sites 
but other commonly treated sites include indoor food and non-food use 
sites, residential settings, and commercial/industrial facilities. 
Strawberries (54 percent), eggplant (43 percent), peppers (17 percent), 
and tomatoes (13 percent) are the crops with the highest percentage of 
their overall acreage treated.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for methyl bromide. Risks of concern 
associated with the use of methyl bromide include bystander risks which 
exceed the Agency's level of concern for several scenarios. Bystanders 
would include any person living, working, or located near a fumigant 
application that may be exposed to emissions coming off the treated 
area (e.g., field). Worker risks also exceed Agency's level of concern 
for the majority of scenarios considered, even when appropriate 
mitigation measures were considered (e.g., respirators and emission 
reduction technology such as tarps). Acute risks to birds and mammals 
do not exceed the Agency's level of concern. However, there is a 
potential for exposure over a prolonged period. For aquatic organisms, 
the only aquatic LOC exceeded is the acute endangered species LOC for 
aquatic invertebrates. 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, methyl bromide 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 methyl bromide. 
Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked 
``late'' EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
    After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the 
methyl bromide RED for soil, greenhouses, and residential/structural 
uses.

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 17, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. E7-8275 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
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