[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 121 (Monday, June 23, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35363-35365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14103]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 82

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064; FRL-8683-6]
RIN 2060-AK26


Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes for 
Ozone-Depleting Substances--n-Propyl Bromide in Adhesives, Coatings, 
and Aerosols; Notice of Data Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability and request for comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making available 
to the public information related to a May 30, 2007 proposed rule under 
the Significant New Alternatives Policy

[[Page 35364]]

(SNAP) program under section 612 of the Clean Air Act. The SNAP program 
reviews alternatives to Class I and Class II ozone-depleting substances 
and finds acceptable the use of alternatives that reduce the overall 
risk to public health and the environment. EPA proposed to list n-
propyl bromide (nPB) as unacceptable for use as a substitute for 
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-113, methyl chloroform, and 
hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141b in the adhesive and aerosol solvent 
end uses; and acceptable subject to use conditions (limited to coatings 
at facilities that, as of May 30, 2007, had provided EPA with 
information demonstrating their ability to maintain acceptable 
workplace exposures) as a substitute for methyl chloroform, CFC-113, 
and HCFC-141b in the coatings end use. The Agency has received 
additional information regarding the exposure levels of n-propyl 
bromide found in the workplace due to use of aerosols containing n-
propyl bromide, as well as information on industry practices from 
aerosol suppliers and from a survey of a significant number of end 
users. The Agency is requesting comment on these materials. We plan to 
consider this information, and any comments received during the comment 
period on this notice of data availability, in determining what future 
action to take on our May 2007 proposal regarding the use of n-propyl 
bromide in aerosols.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2002-0064, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2002-0064. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online 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 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 instructions on submitting 
comments, go to section I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.
    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, i.e., 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 electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket, 
EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 
DC. The 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, and the telephone number for the 
Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Sheppard, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Mail Code 6205J, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202) 343-9163; fax number (202) 
343-2362; e-mail address: [email protected]. Notices and 
rulemakings under the SNAP program are available on EPA's Stratospheric 
Ozone World Wide Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/regs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
II. What is this action?
III. On what information is EPA requesting comment?
IV. Where can I get the data and comments being made available for 
comment?
V. Why is EPA requesting comment on these data and comments?
VI. What is EPA not taking comment on?
VII. What supporting documentation do I need to include in my 
comments?

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

A. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI)

    Do not submit this information to EPA through www.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.
    Send or deliver information identified as CBI only by delivery 
service to the following address: Margaret Sheppard, U.S. EPA, 1310 L 
Street, NW., Room 1029, Washington DC 20005, Attention Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064.

B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments

    When submitting comments, remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register (FR) date, 
and page number).
     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.

[[Page 35365]]

     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

C. How Can I Get Copies of Related Information?

    The specific public comments and data on which EPA is taking 
comment are available in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064 
(continuation of Air Docket A-91-42). The physical address for EPA's 
docket is discussed above in the ADDRESSES section of this action. 
These documents and other information concerning EPA's May 30, 2007 
proposed rulemaking are available electronically through http://www.regulations.gov, as discussed above in the ADDRESSES section of 
this action. If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for 
claiming CBI, please consult the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section.

II. What Is This Action?

    We are requesting comment on additional information received during 
and after the public comment period concerning industry practices and 
workplace exposure levels of n-propyl bromide when it is used as an 
aerosol solvent. The May 30, 2007 proposed rule, 72 FR 30168, proposed 
to list the chemical n-propyl bromide as an unacceptable substitute for 
methyl chloroform (1,1,1-trichloroethane), CFC-113 (1,1,2-trifluoro-
1,2,2-trichloroethane), and HCFC-141b (1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane) 
when used in aerosol solvents. EPA proposed that nPB in this end use 
poses unacceptable risks to human health when compared with other 
substitutes that are available. In addition, EPA took comment on 
alternate options that would find nPB acceptable subject to use 
conditions in aerosol solvents.
    In response to the May, 2007 proposal, EPA received public 
comments, which have been made available to the public through docket 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064. Most of these comments concerned the Agency's 
proposal to find nPB unacceptable in aerosols.\1\ In the proposal, we 
stated: ``EPA's greatest concern with nPB-based aerosols is that users 
of nPB as an aerosol solvent cannot reliably maintain exposures at 
sufficiently low levels to ensure that workers are protected. This 
finding is based on measured exposure data and model estimations 
indicating the likelihood of elevated concentrations associated with 
nPB-based aerosols given typical ventilation conditions.'' (72 FR 
30188)
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    \1\ Comments were also received on the other two aspects of that 
proposal which concerned nPB as a substitute for methyl chloroform, 
CFC-113, and HCFC-141b in the adhesives and coatings end uses.
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III. On What Information Is EPA Requesting Comment?

    EPA is requesting comment on the public comments and data in the 
following documents in:
    Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064:
     July 30, 2007 Comments submitted by D. Douglas Fratz, Vice 
President, Scientific and Technical Affairs, and Andrew R. Hackman, 
Manager, State Affairs Programs, Consumer Specialty Products 
Association (CSPA) and attachments--docket items EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-
0319 and EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0319.1.
     November 16, 2007 Supplemental Comments submitted by D. 
Douglas Fratz, Vice President, Scientific & Technical Affairs and 
Andrew Hackman, Manager, State Affairs Programs, CSPA and attachments--
docket items EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0327, EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0327.1, 
and EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0327.2.
     E-mail exchanges between M. Sheppard, EPA, and A. Hackman, 
CSPA--docket items EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0340, EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-
0341, EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0342, and EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064-0344.

IV. Where Can I Get the Data and Comments Being Made Available for 
Comment?

    All of the data on which we are seeking comment can be obtained 
through docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0064 at http://www.regulations.gov. You 
also can find this information in hard copy through EPA's Air and 
Radiation Docket in the Public Reading Room at the address given in the 
ADDRESSES section above.

V. Why Is EPA Requesting Comment on These Data and Comments?

    We are soliciting comment on this new information to ensure that we 
use the best information available when we determine how to proceed on 
our May 2007 proposal, in which we proposed to list nPB as unacceptable 
in the aerosol solvent end use. The information which we are seeking 
comment on will be considered by EPA in determining how to proceed on 
our proposal and because it substantially expands data for this end use 
beyond the information the Agency had available at the time we issued 
the proposed rule, the Agency is now providing the public with an 
opportunity to comment on the quality, accuracy and representativeness 
of the information. We will consider this information, along with other 
data and public comments also available in the public docket, to move 
forward with a final rulemaking concerning nPB in the aerosol solvent 
end use.

VI. What Is EPA Not Taking Comment On?

    EPA is not taking additional comment on exposure data or industry 
practices in end uses of adhesives and coatings. EPA is only taking on 
comment in the end use of aerosol solvents. Furthermore, we are only 
accepting comments on the quality, accuracy, and representativeness of 
the information and comments described in this action.

VII. What Supporting Documentation Do I Need To Include in My Comments?

    Please provide any information or data supporting your comments, 
particularly information on exposure levels, the amount of nPB usage, 
and ventilation levels when nPB is used as an aerosol solvent.

    Dated: June 4, 2008.
Brian McLean,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. E8-14103 Filed 6-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P