[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24297-24299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8390]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0124; FRL-8125[dash]7]


1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D) 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 solicitation of 
comments on the EPA's revised human health risk assessment for the soil 
fumigant 1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D), which is commonly referred to as 
telone. In addition, this notice seeks public comment on the risk 
reduction options paper and EPA's benefits assessments for the soil 
fumigant group. The Agency is also seeking comments on the 1,3-D 
ecological risk assessment which, based on public comments in phase 3, 
was not revised. Although 1,3-D has undergone reregistration and a 
Reregistration Eligibility Decision was published in December 1998, EPA 
is concurrently assessing six soil fumigants to ensure that its risk 
assessment approaches are consistent, and to ensure that risk tradeoffs 
and economic outcomes can be adequately predicted in reaching risk 
management decisions for the five other soil fumigants. The Agency is 
seeking the same input from the public on these pesticides. EPA has 
developed a revised human health risk assessment for 1,3-D and is 
seeking comment through a public participation process in order to make 
available current and accurate information on this pesticide.

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

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0124, 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.

[[Page 24298]]

     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-
2005-0124. 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 Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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: Andrea Carone, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number:703-308-0122; 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 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, initially issued for comment through a Federal Register 
notice published on July 13, 2005 (70 FR 40342) (FRL-7721-9); a 
response to comments; and related documents for 1,3-D. EPA also is 
soliciting public comment on the risk reduction options paper and the 
benefits assessments for the soil fumigant group. 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).
    1,3-D is applied to control root-knot nematodes and certain pests 
and diseases in the soil prior to the planting of a variety of food and 
feed crops including vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other field and 
nursery crops. In addition there is a proposed new use for post-plant 
drip irrigation in established vineyards. 1,3-D is also a restricted 
use pesticide and as such can only be applied by certified applicators 
or those under the supervision of a certified applicator. End-use 
product formulations containing 1,3-D may be applied through drip 
irrigation or by injection below the soil surface either in rows or 
broadcast across an area.

[[Page 24299]]

    1,3-D was deemed eligible for reregistration in December 1998. The 
volatility of 1,3-D 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 commodities 
when end-use product formulations containing 1,3-D are applied 
according to label directions. Therefore, this fumigant does not 
require food tolerances.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for the soil fumigant group. A complete list 
of the mitigation options can be found in the following document, 
``Risk Mitigation Options to Address Bystander and Occupational 
Exposures from Soil Fumigant Applications,'' docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0124-0048. A Reader's Guide has been created to provide an 
organizational structure to the 1,3-D Docket, to allow readers to more 
easily access and navigate the various entries contained in the 1,3-D 
Docket, and to facilitate public comment. You will find this guide at 
EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0124-0046. 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.
    Although 1,3-D has undergone reregistration, the Agency plans to 
follow a similar public participation process for the human health 
revised risk assessment to ensure that the risk assessment approaches 
are consistent, and that risk management decisions for the five other 
soil fumigants consider the relative risks and benefits of each 
chemical. While the Agency does not anticipate making changes to the 
decisions made in the 1998 RED, if, at the conclusion of the soil 
fumigant assessment and risk management process, EPA determines that it 
is appropriate to modify its 1998 risk mitigation decision for 1,3-D 
considering the relative risks and benefits of others, EPA may relax 
certain measures or consider adding new ones.
    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 1,3-D. 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.''
    1,3-D was deemed eligible for reregistration in December 1998. EPA 
has developed a revised human health risk assessment for 1,3-D to 
assess the proposed post-plant use in established vineyards, and also 
in order to make available current and accurate information on this 
pesticide which will be considered as EPA assesses risk and develops 
risk management decisions for the five other soil fumigants.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: April 19, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-8390 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
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