[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20638-20640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8174]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0402; FRL-8359-6]


Pentachlorophenol Revised Risk Assessments; 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 restricted use antimicrobial pesticide 
pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its micro-contaminants, dioxin/furan (CDDs/
CDFs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). In addition, this notice solicits 
public comment on risk reduction options for PCP and its micro-
contaminants CDDs/CDFs and HCB, and an initial impacts and/or 
preliminary benefits assessment (Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process). 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 PCP 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-2004-0402, 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-
2004-

[[Page 20639]]

0402. 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: Sherrie Kinard, Antimicrobials 
Division (7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-0563; fax number: (703) 308-6467; e-
mail address: kinard.sherrie @epa.gov.

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 March 30, 2005 (70 FR 16276) (FRL-7707-1 ); a response to 
comments; and related documents for pentachlorophenol. EPA also is 
soliciting public comment on potential risk reduction options for 
pentachlorophenol, and a preliminary benefits assessment for identified 
risks of concern. EPA developed the risk assessments for 
pentachlorophenol and its micro-contaminants, dioxins/furans and HCB, 
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).
    Pentachlorophenol is a general biocide which is used extensively in 
the United States (as is its salt, sodium pentachlorophenate or NaPCP) 
as a wood preservative. The production of pentachlorophenol for wood 
preserving began on an experimental basis in the 1930s. In 1947, nearly 
7 million pounds of PCP were reported to have been used in the United 
States by the commercial wood preserving industry. Pentachlorophenol 
was one of the most widely used biocides in the United States prior to 
regulatory actions to cancel and restrict certain non-wood preservative 
uses in 1987. Prior to the 1987 Federal Register Notice (Vol. 52, No. 
13) which cancelled and restricted certain non-wood uses of 
pentachlorophenol, it was registered for use as a herbicide, defoliant, 
mossicide, and as a disinfectant. The 1987 notice also specified 
maximum allowable amounts of HCB and dioxins/furans that

[[Page 20640]]

could be present in formulations of pentachlorophenol.
    Indoor applications of pentachlorophenol are prohibited in 
accordance with the restrictions indicated in the U.S.EPA Position 
Document 4 for Wood Preservative Pesticides: Creosote, 
Pentachlorophenol and Inorganic Arsenicals (1984, amended 1986). The 
use of pentachlorophenol to treat wood intended for use in interiors is 
prohibited, except for a few low exposure uses (i.e., those support 
structures which are in contact with the soil in barns, stables, and 
similar sites and are subject to decay or insect infestation).
    Pentachlorophenol is a restricted use pesticide for sale and use by 
certified applicators only. There are currently eight active products 
registered that contain pentachlorophenol (Chemical Code 063001). There 
are approximately 60 million utility-owned wood poles and 54 million 
crossarms in service across the United States that have been treated 
with wood preservatives (mainly pentaclorophenol and creosote). 
Approximately 36 million of the wood poles in service have been treated 
with pentachlorophenol, and approximately 96% of the crossarms in 
service were treated. An estimated 3% of the treated poles are replaced 
annually with freshly treated poles.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for pentachlorophenol and its micro-
contaminants. Risks of concern associated with the use of 
pentachlorophenol are long-term dermal non-cancer risks for the 
pressure treatment operator mixing/loading/applying the liquid 
formulations and for the pressure treatment assistant mixing/loading/
applying the liquid and the crystalline formulations. Dermal non-cancer 
risks of concern range from a MOE of 79 to a MOE of 230 with the target 
MOE of 300. Estimated cancer risks for handlers are of concern for the 
same 3 scenarios with cancer risks ranging from 4.9E\-\4 to 
7.9E\-\5. Estimated cancer risks resulting from exposure to 
pentachlorophenols micro-contaminants dioxins/furans exceed the level 
of concern for the pressure treatment loader operator, pressure 
treatment test borer, general helpers, and electrical utility linemen. 
Cancer risks of concern range from 3.0E\-\5 to 8.0E\-
\5 for these scenarios. In targeting these risks of concern, 
the Agency is soliciting 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, pentachlorophenol 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 pentachlorophenol. 
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 
pentachlorophenol 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 
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, Antimicrobials, 
Pentachlorophenol, Penta.


    Dated: April 8, 2008.
Frank Sanders,
Director, Antimicrobial Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-8174 Filed 4-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S