[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60016-60018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20930]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-1016; FRL-8154-5]


Air Fresheners; TSCA Section 21 Petition; Notice of Receipt

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces that EPA has received a petition under 
section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and requests 
comments on issues raised by the petition. The petition was received 
from the Sierra Club, the National Center for Healthy Housing, the 
Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Natural Resources Defense Council 
on September 20, 2007. The petitioners are concerned about risks to 
human health and the environment from exposure to air fresheners. They 
are petitioning EPA to assess and reduce these risks by exercising its 
authority under TSCA sections 8(c), 8(d), 4, and 6(a)(3). EPA must 
either grant or deny a TSCA section 21 petition within 90 days of 
receipt of the petition, and will, therefore, respond to this petition 
by December 18, 2007.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 7, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-1016, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA 
East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
Attention: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-1016. The DCO is open from 
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2007-1016. 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

[[Page 60017]]

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 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. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit 
the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    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 
website 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, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly 
available docket materials are available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPPT 
Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) at 
Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. The telephone 
number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 566-0280. Docket visitors 
are required to show photographic identification, pass through a metal 
detector, and sign the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are processed 
through an X-ray machine and subject to search. Visitors will be 
provided an EPA/DC badge that must be visible at all times in the 
building and returned upon departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby 
Linter, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division 
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: [email protected].
    For technical information contact: Robert Jones, Chemical Control 
Division (7405M), Office Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 564-8161; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by an action in response to this 
petition if you manufacture, process, import, or distribute in commerce 
air fresheners or ingredients in air fresheners. Potentially affected 
entities may include, but are not limited to:
     Chemical manufacturers (including importers) and 
processors (NAICS code 325), e.g., air and room freshener manufacturers 
and manufacturers of incense.
     Other miscellaneous manufacturers (including importers) 
and processors (NAICS code 3399), e.g., manufacturers of candles and 
potpourri.
    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities that may potentially be affected 
by this action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could 
also be affected. The North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes have been provided to assist you and others in 
determining whether this action might apply to certain entities. To 
determine whether you or your business may be affected by this action, 
you should carefully examine the TSCA section 21 petition on air 
fresheners. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of 
this action to a particular entity, consult the technical 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 
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 is a TSCA Section 21 Petition?

    Section 21 of TSCA allows citizens to petition EPA to initiate a 
proceeding for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule under TSCA 
section 4, 6, or 8 or an order under TSCA section 5(e) or 6(b)(2). A 
TSCA section 21 petition must set forth facts that the petitioner 
believes establish the need for the action requested. EPA is required 
to grant or deny the petition within 90 days of its filing. If EPA 
grants the petition, EPA

[[Page 60018]]

must promptly commence an appropriate proceeding. If EPA denies the 
petition, EPA must publish its reasons for the denial in the Federal 
Register. Within 60 days of denial or expiration of the 90-day period, 
if no action is taken, the petitioner may commence a civil action in a 
U.S. district court to compel initiation of the requested rulemaking 
proceeding.

B. What Action is Requested Under this TSCA Section 21 Petition?

    On September 20, 2007, the Sierra Club, the National Center for 
Healthy Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Natural 
Resources Defense Council petitioned EPA under TSCA section 21. The 
petitioners are concerned about risks to human health and the 
environment from exposure to air fresheners. They are petitioning EPA 
to assess and reduce these risks by exercising its authority under TSCA 
sections 8(c), 8(d), 4, and 6(a)(3).

C. EPA Seeks Public Comment

    Under TSCA section 21, EPA must either grant or deny a petition 
within 90 days. Because EPA must respond to the petition by December 
18, 2007, EPA will allow the public until November 7, 2007 to reply 
with any additional information relevant to the issues identified in 
the petition, a copy of which can be obtained from the public docket 
(see ADDRESSES).
    In assessing the usability of any data or information that may be 
submitted, EPA plans to follow the guidelines in EPA's ``A Summary of 
General Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Scientific and 
Technical Information'' (EPA 100B-03/001), referred to as the 
``Assessment Factors Document.'' The ``Assessment Factors Document'' 
was published in the Federal Register issue of July 1, 2003 (68 FR 
39086) (FRL-7520-2) and is available on-line at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-GENERAL/2003/July/Day-01/g16328.htm. That document is also 
available on-line at http://www.epa.gov/osa/spc/assess.htm.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Air fresheners, Phthalates, Volatile 
Organic Compounds (VOCs).


    Dated: October 19, 2007.
James B. Gulliford,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.
[FR Doc. E7-20930 Filed 10-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S