[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 249 (Monday, December 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 79483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30811]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8758-1]


Scientific Workshop To Inform EPA's Response to National Academy 
of Science Comments on the Health Effects of Dioxin in EPA's 2003 
Dioxin Reassessment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of scientific workshop and poster submissions.

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SUMMARY: The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), a 
part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of 
Research and Development, is sponsoring a three-day public, scientific 
workshop, including a public review of the recent scientific literature 
on 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) dose-response, to assist 
EPA in responding to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, 
Health Risks from Dioxin and Related Compounds: Evaluation of the EPA 
Reassessment (NAS, 2006). (See 73 FR 70999 for information on the 
preliminary literature search results for TCDD dose-response. The 
literature search was conducted in collaboration with the Department of 
Energy's Argonne National Laboratories.) The Track Group, an EPA 
contractor, will organize and facilitate the workshop.
    Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers and may 
participate in open comment periods. Space is limited and registrations 
will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. As part of the 
registration process, members of the public may choose to submit a 
poster citation and abstract limited to 250 words. Space for displaying 
posters is limited, and abstract submissions will be accepted on a 
first-come, first-served basis.

DATES: The workshop will be held February 18-20, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 6 
p.m. A poster session will be held on February 19, 2009, from 6:30 p.m. 
to 8 p.m. During this time, workshop participants will view the 
posters, and poster authors should be available to answer questions. 
Posters may be installed and displayed between the hours of 8 a.m. and 
8 p.m. on February 19, 2009, and must be taken down at the end of that 
time. To ensure presentation of a poster, poster abstracts must be 
submitted to EPA's contractor, The Track Group, in advance of the 
workshop with a deadline of January 23, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Hilton Cincinnati 
Netherland Plaza, 35 West Fifth St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202; telephone: 
(513) 421-9100. The Track Group, an EPA contractor, is organizing and 
facilitating the workshop. A special conference room rate is available 
by mentioning ``the Dioxin Workshop.'' Registration and poster abstract 
submission are available online at http://dioxinworkshop.eventbrite.com 
or call the conference registration line at (703) 738-4633. To obtain 
copies of background information, please see the NCEA Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ncea/; copies are not available from The Track Group.
    Special Accomodations: EPA welcomes the attendance of the public at 
this workshop and will make every effort to accommodate persons with 
disabilities. If you require special accommodations due to a 
disability, please contact The Track Group, 85 S. Bragg Street, Suite 
301, Alexandria, VA 22312; telephone: (703) 738-4633, facsimile: (703) 
997-0760, at least 7 days before the workshop.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For workshop information, 
registration, and logistics, contact The Track Group, 85 S. Bragg 
Street, Suite 301, Alexandria, VA 22312; telephone: (703) 738-4633; 
facsimile: (703) 997-0760.
    For technical information, contact Glenn E. Rice, National Center 
for Environmental Assessment, (Mail Code: MS A-110), Office of Research 
and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH 
45268; telephone: (513) 569-7813; facsimile: (513) 487-2539; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This workshop is designed to inform EPA's 
response to the NAS report, Health Risks from Dioxin and Related 
Compounds: Evaluation of the EPA Reassessment (NAS, 2006), by enlisting 
expert scientist and public comment and input. The main objectives of 
the workshop are to (1) identify the key significant comments offered 
by the NAS in their evaluation of the TCDD dose-response assessment in 
the EPA Reassessment (EPA, 2003), (2) discuss approaches for addressing 
these comments, and (3) identify the key published literature needed to 
support the EPA response.
    The three key findings of the NAS (2006) were for EPA to address: 
``(1) Justification of approaches to dose-response modeling for cancer 
and noncancer endpoints, (2) transparency and clarity in selection of 
key data sets for analysis, and (3) transparency, thoroughness and 
clarity in quantitative uncertainty analysis.'' EPA's goal for this 
open, public workshop is to ensure that its technical response focuses 
on the key issues and considers the most meaningful science to inform 
its understanding of these issues, while maintaining transparency 
throughout the process and providing opportunity for outside comment 
and input.
    Participants in the workshop will consist of a wide range of 
invited scientific experts and EPA scientific staff, representing a 
variety of areas of expertise related to TCDD. Public participation 
opportunities include designated open comment periods and an evening 
scientific poster session. The purpose of the poster session is to 
provide a forum for scientists to present recent studies relevant to 
TCDD dose-response assessment. Scientists with significant expertise 
and experience with TCDD or dioxin-related compound biology will be 
invited to serve on expert panels for discussions throughout the 
workshop. These expert panels will be asked to highlight significant 
and emerging TCDD research and make recommendations to EPA regarding 
the design and scope of the dose-response analyses for TCDD, including 
recommendations for evaluating associated uncertainties. Open comment 
periods will be included in the agenda following each expert panel 
discussion.
    Preliminary information on the program agenda is available on the 
NCEA Web page at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/. Recommendations from the 
expert panels will be made available on the NCEA Web page after the 
workshop.

    Dated: December 17, 2008.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-30811 Filed 12-24-08; 8:45 am]
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