[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 124 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36321-36322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14521]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8685-6; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0461]


Draft Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene 
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on 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 90-day public comment period for the draft 
document entitled, ``Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene 
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the 
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-08/011A). The 
document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development. The 
draft tetrachloroethylene health assessment addresses both potential 
cancer and non-cancer human health effects that may result from chronic 
exposure to tetrachloroethylene. Tetrachloroethylene, commonly referred 
to as ``perc'', is a solvent widely used in the dry cleaning of clothes 
and as a metal degreaser.
    EPA intends to consider comments and recommendations from the 
public and the expert panel meeting, which will be announced at a later 
date, 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 peer review meeting for their consideration.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer 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. EPA will consider any public comments 
submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.
    The draft document is available via the Internet on NCEA's homepage 
under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

DATES: The 90-day public comment period begins June 26, 2008, and ends 
September 24, 2008. Technical comments should be in writing and must be 
received by EPA by September 24, 2008. EPA intends to submit comments 
from the public received by this date for consideration by the external 
peer review panel.
    The draft tetrachloroethylene assessment will be independently peer 
reviewed by an expert panel convened by The National Academies' Board 
on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). Information on the 
first meeting of the BEST tetrachloroethylene panel, expected to be 
held in late fall 2008, will be posted on The National Academies' Web 
site at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=48697. Note that due to the need to provide the 
public comments to the peer review panel one month prior to their first 
meeting, an extension of the public comment beyond the 90 days provided 
will not be possible. EPA has lengthened the comment period for 
tetrachloroethylene beyond the usual 60 days allotted for IRIS 
assessments because of the expected high interest in this draft 
assessment.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene 
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the 
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' is available primarily via 
the Internet on NCEA's 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 by contacting the Information 
Management Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-
8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, 
your mailing address, and the document title, ``Toxicological Review of 
Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary 
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).''
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions 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].
    For technical information on the draft assessment, contact the 
Information Management Team by (phone: 703-347-8561; fax: 703-347-8691; 
or e-mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary 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 the risk 
assessment process. When supported by available data, the database 
provides oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference 
concentrations (RfCs) for chronic non-cancer health effects, and oral 
slope factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. 
Combined with exposure information, government and private entities use 
IRIS to help characterize the public health risks of chemical 
substances 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-
0461, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].

[[Page 36322]]

     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, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 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 mail or hand delivery, please submit 
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-
2008-0461. 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 www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are 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: June 20, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E8-14521 Filed 6-25-08; 8:45 am]
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