[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20629-20631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8169]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0248; FRL-8361-5]


Creosote Revised Risk Assessments and Qualitative Economic 
Analysis of the Alternatives; 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 of EPA's revised risk 
assessments for the pesticide creosote. In addition, this notice 
solicits public comment on risk reduction options for creosote as well 
as solicits comments on the qualitative economic impacts analysis, 
(Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process). EPA is developing a Reregistration 
Eligibility Decision (RED) for creosote through the full, 6-Phase 
public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public 
in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment 
decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides 
meet current health and safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 16, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0248, 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2008-0248. 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 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 
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, 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Cambpell-McFarlane, 
Antimicrobials Division (7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-

[[Page 20630]]

0001; telephone number: (703) 308-6416; fax number: (703) 308-6467; 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 risk assessments, 
initially issued for comment through a Federal Register notice 
published on December 5, 2003 (68 FR 68042) (FRL-7318-6); a response to 
comments; and related documents for creosote. EPA is also soliciting 
public comment on risk reduction options for creosote and comments on 
the qualitative economic impacts analysis. EPA developed the risk 
assessments for creosote 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).
    Creosote, a restricted use pesticide, is a ``heavy duty wood 
preservative'' that was first registered in the United States in 1948. 
Presently, 13 products are registered as industrial wood preservatives 
for above and ground wood protection treatments, as well as wood used 
in marine environments. Creosote wood preservatives are used primarily 
in the pressure treatment of railroad ties/crossties (about 70% 
creosote use), utility poles/cross-arms (about 16% of all creosote 
use), and marine piles (> 4% creosote use. Assorted creosote-treated 
lumber products (e.g., timbers, poles, posts, and ground-line support 
structures) account for the remaining uses of this wood preservative. 
EPA issued cancellation orders in August 2004 that accepted the 
voluntary use termination request/product cancellation requests to 
either amend current label language to delete non-pressure treatment 
uses of creosote or to cancel the affected products (September 15,2007; 
69 FR 55623; FRL-7682). This action canceled three pesticide 
registrations and terminated certain uses of seven pesticide 
registrations as of December 31, 2004.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for creosote. Risks of concern associated 
with the use of creosote are: Short-term, intermediate-term, and long-
term non-cancer risks; and cancer risks for occupational handlers. 
Approximately one third of the dermal non-cancer scenarios indicate 
potential risks of concern. The non-cancer inhalation MOEs for 
occupational exposure to naphthalene (detected in 100% of the 
inhalation exposure samples when applying creosote) range from 23-1,900 
with the inhalation MOEs for 16 of the 19 job functions being below the 
target MOE of 300. All of the cancer risks exceed the Agency's level of 
concern of 1 x 10-6 but only 4 of the scenarios had risks 
exceeding 1 x 10-4 (i.e., risks range from 1.6E-3 to 9.5E-
6). 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, creosote 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 creosote. 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 for 
comment the creosote 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

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products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, antimicrobials, 
creosote.

    Dated: April 11, 2008.
Betty Shackleford,
Acting Director, Antimicrobials Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-8169 Filed 4-15-08; 8:45 .am.]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S