[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 86 (Friday, May 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24290-24291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9742]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

[ATSDR-244]


Availability of the Draft Report ``Selected Information on 
Chemical Releases Within Great Lakes Counties Containing Areas of 
Concern (AOC) (Public Comment Draft 2008)''

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: This report responds to a request from the International Joint 
Commission (IJC), the binational organization that works to implement 
the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) between the U.S. and 
Canada. The GLWQA calls for the two nations to define ``the threat to 
human health from critical pollutants'' found in the Great Lakes basin.
    This notice announces the availability of the draft report entitled 
``Selected Information on Chemical Releases Within Great Lakes Counties 
Containing Areas of Concern (AOC) (Public Comment Draft 2008)''. This 
report summarizes previously-published public health assessment 
products and chemical release information for the 26 U.S. AOCs and 54 
counties that are in close geographic proximity to those AOCs. This is 
a descriptive report that does not make associations between health 
outcomes and chemical exposures. The compilation of environmental data, 
gathered by ATSDR and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is 
intended to help decision-makers set future priorities.

DATES: The agency must receive comments on or before June 30, 2008. 
Comments can be sent via e-mail box [email protected]. Comments 
received after close of the public comment period will be considered at 
the discretion of ATSDR on the basis of what is deemed to be in the 
best interest of the general public.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Ms. Olga 
Dawkins, ATSDR, Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE., MS F-32, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Fowler, Ph.D., Division of 
Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry, Mailstop F-32, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Atlanta, 
Georgia 30333, telephone (770) 488-7250. Electronic access to these 
documents is also available at the ATSDR Web site: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The geographic focus of this report is a set 
of 26 ``Areas of Concern'' (AOCs) along Great Lakes streams, rivers, 
and lakes. These AOCs are defined under the Agreement as ecologically 
degraded geographic areas requiring remediation. In response to the IJC 
request, this report presents previously published public health 
assessment products and chemical release information for the 54 
counties in geographic proximity to one or more of the 26 U.S. AOC. 
Much of the available data pertain to counties, and not to AOCs. Some 
AOCs occupy small parts of a single county, while others may reach 
across more than one county. The data come from publicly available data 
sets provided by ATSDR and the U.S. EPA.
    The GLWQA defines ``critical pollutants'' as substances that 
persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in fish and wildlife, and are 
toxic to humans and animals. There are 12 categories of critical 
pollutants. This report emphasizes the critical pollutants (within the 
constraints imposed by using existing data) but also presents 
information on other pollutants, when such information is available and 
relevant.
    This report compiles and presents previously collected 
environmental data from four sources:
     Data on hazardous waste sites in AOC counties, from 
evaluations prepared by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry (ATSDR);
     Chemical release data from the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI);
     Data on pollutant discharges into water, from EPA's 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES);
     Data on ``beneficial use impairments'' such as wildlife 
and drinking water advisories, from each of the Great Lakes states. 
These data are presented in three ways: In text, in tables, and in 
Geographic Information System-based (GIS) maps created by ATSDR for 
each of the 26 U.S. AOCs.
    This is a descriptive report that does not make associations 
between health outcomes and chemical exposures. The compilation of 
environmental data, gathered by ATSDR and EPA, is intended to help 
decision-makers set future priorities.
    The report is available at the ATSDR Web site, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov,

[[Page 24291]]

along with a notice of a 60-day public comment period for the report. 
Following the close of the comment period, comments will be addressed 
and, where appropriate, changes will be incorporated into the report. 
The public comments and other data submitted in response to the Federal 
Register notice will bear the docket control number of ATSDR-244 and 
can be sent via e-mail box [email protected]. This material is 
available for public inspection in the Record Room for the Agency for 
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 4770 Buford Highway, Building 
106, Atlanta, Georgia 30341 (not a mailing address) between 8 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on legal holidays.

    Dated: April 29, 2008.
Ken Rose,
Director, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, National Center 
for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry.
 [FR Doc. E8-9742 Filed 5-1-08; 8:45 am]
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