[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 237 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65775-65776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29594]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9091-1; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0791]


Draft Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene: In Support of 
the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information System 
(IRIS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Listening Session.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a listening session to be held on January 
12, 2010, during the public comment period for the external review 
draft document entitled, ``Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene: 
In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-09/011A). The draft document was prepared by 
the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the 
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). This listening session 
is a step in EPA's revised IRIS process, announced on May 21, 2009, to 
develop human health assessments for inclusion in the IRIS database. 
The purpose of the listening session is to allow all interested parties 
to present scientific and technical comments on draft IRIS health 
assessments to EPA and other interested parties during the public 
comment period and before the external peer review meeting. The public 
comment period and the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) peer-review 
workshop, which will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the 
Federal Register, are separate processes. EPA welcomes the scientific 
and technical comments that will be provided to the Agency by the 
listening session participants. The comments will be considered by the 
Agency as it revises the draft assessment in response to the 
independent external peer review and public comments. All presentations 
submitted in accordance with the instructions below will become part of 
the official public record.
    The EPA's draft assessment and peer review charge are available via 
the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's 
(NCEA) home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

DATES: The listening session on the draft IRIS health assessment for 
trichloroethylene will be held on January 12, 2010, beginning at 9 a.m. 
and ending at 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. If you want to make a 
presentation at the listening session, you should register by January 
5, 2010, indicate that you wish to make oral comments at the session, 
and indicate the length of your presentation. When you register, please 
indicate if you will need audio-visual aid (e.g., lap top and slide 
projector). In general, each presentation should be no more than 30 
minutes. If, however, there are more requests for presentations than 
the allotted time allows, then the time limit for each presentation 
will be adjusted. A copy of the agenda for the listening session will 
be available at the meeting. If no speakers have registered by January 
5, 2010, the listening session will be cancelled and EPA will notify 
those registered of the cancellation.
    The public comment period for review of this draft assessment was 
announced previously in the Federal Register (FR) (74 FR 56834) on 
November 3, 2009. As stated in that FR notice, the public comment 
period began on November 3, 2009, and ends February 1, 2010. Any 
technical comments submitted during the public comment period should be 
in writing and must be received by EPA by February 1, 2010. Only those 
public comments submitted using the procedures identified in the 
November 3, 2009, FR notice by the February 1, 2010, deadline will be 
provided to the peer-review panel prior to the SAB peer-review 
workshop. The date and logistics for the SAB peer-review meeting will 
be announced later in a separate FR notice.
    Listening session participants who want EPA to share their comments 
with the external peer reviewers should also submit written comments 
during the public comment period using the detailed and established 
procedures included in the aforementioned FR notice of November 3, 
2009. Comments submitted to the docket prior to the end of the public 
comment period will be submitted to the external peer reviewers and 
considered by EPA in the disposition of public comments. All comments 
must be submitted to the docket, but comments received after the public 
comment period closes will not be submitted to the external peer 
reviewers.

ADDRESSES: The listening session on the draft trichloroethylene 
assessment will be held at the EPA offices at Potomac Yard North, Room 
4830N, 2733 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22202. To attend 
the listening session, register by Tuesday, January 5, 2010, via the 
internet at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/peerreview/register-tce.htm. You may also register by e-mail at [email protected] 
(subject line: Trichloroethylene Listening Session), by phone: 781-674-
7374 or toll free at 800-803-2833 (ask for Laurie Stamatatos), or by 
faxing a registration request to 781-674-2906 (please reference the 
``Trichloroethylene Listening Session'' and include your name, title, 
affiliation, full address, and contact information).
    Please note that to gain entrance to this EPA building to attend 
the meeting, attendees must have photo identification with them and 
must register at the guard's desk in the lobby. The guard will retain 
your photo identification and will provide you with a visitor's badge. 
At the guard's desk, attendees should give the name Christine Ross and 
the telephone number, 703-347-8592, to the guard on duty. The guard 
will contact Ms. Ross who will meet you in the reception area to escort 
you to the meeting room. When you leave the building, please return 
your visitor's badge to the guard and you will receive your photo 
identification.
    A teleconference line will also be available for registered 
attendees/speakers. The teleconference number is 866-299-3188 and the 
access code is 926-378-7897, followed by the pound sign (). 
The teleconference line will be activated at 8:45 a.m., and you will be 
asked to identify yourself and your affiliation at the beginning of the 
call.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA 
welcomes public attendance at the ``Trichloroethylene Listening 
Session'' and will make every effort to accommodate persons with 
disabilities.

[[Page 65776]]

For information on access or services for individuals with 
disabilities, please contact Christine Ross at 703-347-8592 or 
[email protected]. To request accommodation of a disability, 
please contact Ms. Ross, preferably at least 10 days prior to the 
meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public 
listening sessions, please contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National 
Center for Environmental Assessment, (8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-
8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected]. If 
you have questions about the draft trichloroethylene assessment, 
contact Weihsueh Chiu, National Center for Environmental Assessment, 
(8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: 703-347-8607; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 a risk assessment process. When supported by available 
data, the database provides oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation 
reference concentrations (RfCs) for chronic health effects, and oral 
slope factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. 
Combined with specific exposure information, government and private 
entities can use IRIS data to help characterize public health risks of 
chemical substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support 
risk management decisions designed to protect public health.
    This listening session is a step in EPA's revised process, 
announced on May 21, 2009, for development of human health assessments 
for inclusion on IRIS. The updated process is posted on the IRIS home 
page at http://www.epa.gov/iris.

    Dated: December 1, 2009.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E9-29594 Filed 12-10-09; 8:45 am]
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