[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 234 (Thursday, December 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73930-73931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28713]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8746-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0663]


An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 30-day public comment period for the draft 
document titled, ``An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl 
Ethers'' (EPA/600/R-08/086A). The document was prepared by the National 
Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and 
Development. The document provides a comprehensive assessment of the 
exposure of Americans to polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs, a class 
of brominated flame retardants. It includes chapters on use and 
production of PBDEs, environmental fate, environmental and exposure 
media concentrations, and an exposure assessment including background 
exposures and exposures to special populations.
    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.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins December 4, 2008, and 
ends January 5, 2009. Technical comments should be in writing and must 
be received by EPA by January 5, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated 
Diphenyl Ethers `` is available primarily via the Internet on the 
National Center for Environmental Assessment'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 from 
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, ``An 
Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers''.
    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, contact Matthew Lorber, NCEA; telephone: 
703-347-8535; facsimile: 703-347-8692; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Project/Document

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formed 
a working group comprised of individuals from several program offices 
including the Offices of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances; 
the Office of Water; the Office of Research and Development; and the 
Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, to study production, use, 
alternatives, environmental fate, exposure, and health effects of 
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). This working group issued a 
project plan in 2006 that outlined projects in these areas. EPA reports 
regularly on progress in completing the activities identified in the 
project plan, with the most recent status report issued in March 2008. 
The Web site that describes this working group, including the project 
plan, is http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pbde. This draft document addresses 
the exposure assessment needs identified in that project plan. It 
provides a comprehensive assessment of the exposure of Americans to 
this class of persistent organic pollutants. Individual chapters in 
this document address: The production, use, and lifecycle of PBDEs; 
environmental fate; environmental and exposure media levels; and human 
exposure.

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-
0663, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     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-
2008-0663. 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

[[Page 73931]]

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 http://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: November 19, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-28713 Filed 12-3-08; 8:45 am]
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