[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8867-8868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2882]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8530-2; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0057]


Draft Toxicological Review of Thallium: In Support of the Summary 
Information in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a public comment period for the external 
review draft document titled, ``Toxicological Review of Thallium: In 
Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS)'' (NCEA-S-2949). The EPA intends to consider comments and 
recommendations from the public and the expert panel meeting, which 
will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal 
Register, when EPA finalizes the draft document. The public comment 
period will provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment 
on the document. EPA intends to forward public comments submitted in 
accordance with this notice to the external peer-review panel prior to 
the meeting for their consideration.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination public 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.
    The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are available via 
the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. When finalizing 
the draft document, EPA intends to consider any public comments that 
EPA receives in accordance with this notice.

DATES: The public comment period begins February 15, 2008, and ends 
April 15, 2008. Technical comments should be in writing and must be 
received by EPA by April 15, 2008. EPA intends to submit comments from 
the public received by this date for consideration by the external peer 
review panel.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Thallium: In Support of 
Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' 
is available via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's (NCEA) home page under the Recent Additions and the Data 
and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of 
paper copies are available from NCEA's Technical Information Staff, 
telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting 
a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the 
document title. The 1988 Midwest Research Institute (MRI) study 
referenced in the draft Toxicological Review of Thallium is available 
by calling EPA's IRIS Hotline at 202-566-1676, by facsimile at 202-566-
1749, or by e-mail at [email protected].
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier.

[[Page 8868]]

Please follow the detailed instructions as provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    If you have questions about the document, contact Susan Rieth, IRIS 
Staff, National Center for Environmental Assessment, (8601P), U.S. EPA, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-
347-8582; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

    IRIS is a database that contains potential adverse human health 
effects information 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 data 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. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-
0057 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 Ave., 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 Ave., 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.
    If you provide comments by e-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-
2008-0057. 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 
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 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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be 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: February 11, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-2882 Filed 2-14-08; 8:45 am]
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