[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30825-30827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13097]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9157-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0396]
Draft Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde in Support of Summary
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period and listening session.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 90-day public comment period and a public
listening session for the external review draft human health assessment
titled, ``Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde Inhalation Assessment:
In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-10/002C). The draft assessment was prepared
by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the
EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this
draft assessment solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer
review under applicable information quality guidelines. This draft
assessment has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not
represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or
determination. A committee of the National Research Council, acting
under the auspices of National Academy of Sciences (NAS), will conduct
an independent scientific peer review of the EPA draft human health
assessment of formaldehyde. The peer review committee will hold
meetings, some of which may involve public sessions. Public sessions
will be announced before each meeting on the National Academies Web
site (http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49207).
The public comment period and NAS scientific peer review are separate
processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to
comment on the assessment. Due to the timing of the NAS peer review
meetings, one or more NAS meetings may take place before the close of
EPA's public comment period (see DATES below). For NAS meetings that
occur during the public comment period, EPA will provide all public
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comments to the NAS at least 5 working days before the meeting date
announced on the National Academies website. All comments provided to
the EPA during the public comment period will inform the Agency's
revision of the draft assessment.
An EPA listening session will be held on July 27, during the public
comment period for this draft assessment. 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 attending the listening session. EPA welcomes the
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 after the NAS external peer review. If
listening session participants wish EPA to share their comments with
the peer review committee before their meeting, they should also submit
written comments at least 5 working days before the meeting date
announced on the National Academies website, using the detailed and
established procedures described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this notice.
DATES: The public comment period begins June 2, 2010, and ends August
31, 2010. Comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by
August 31, 2010.
The listening session on the draft assessment for formaldehyde will
be held on July 27, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m., Eastern
Daylight Time. Interested parties who wish to attend the listening
session should register no later than July 20. If you wish to present
at the listening session, indicate in your registration that you would
like to present oral comments and provide the length of your
presentation. To register send an e-mail to
[email protected] (subject line: Formaldehyde Listening
Session); call Christine Ross at 703-347-8592; or fax a registration
request to 703-347-8689. Please reference the ``Formaldehyde Listening
Session'' and include your name, title, affiliation, full address and
contact information. Indicate if you will need audio-visual equipment
(e.g., laptop computer 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 July 20, the listening session will be
cancelled, and EPA will notify those registered of the cancellation.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde Inhalation
Assessment: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS)'' is available primarily via the Internet on
the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at
http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available
from the Information Management Team (Address: Information Management
Team, National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-
8691). If you request a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing
address, and the draft assessment title.
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by e-mail, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
The listening session on the draft assessment for formaldehyde will
be held at the EPA offices at Potomac Yard North Building, N-4830, 2733
South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Please note that to
gain entrance to this EPA building to attend the Formaldehyde Listening
Session, you must have photo identification 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, you should provide 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 Formaldehyde Listening Session and
will make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities. For
information on access or services for individuals with disabilities,
please contact Christine Ross by phone at 703-347-8592 or by e-mail at
[email protected]. To request accommodation for 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.
Additional Information: For information on the docket,
www.regulations.gov, or the public comment period, please contact the
Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753;
or e-mail: [email protected].
For information on the Formaldehyde Listening Session, please
contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National Center for Environmental
Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-
347-8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For information on the draft assessment, please contact John
Whalan, National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code:
8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703- 347-8639; facsimile: 703-
347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About IRIS
EPA's IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates
quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may
result from exposure to chemical substances found in the environment.
Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-
based human health assessments to support the Agency's regulatory
activities. The IRIS database contains information for more than 540
chemical substances that can be used to support the first two steps
(hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk
assessment process. When supported by available data, IRIS provides
oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference concentrations
(RfCs) for chronic noncancer health effects and cancer assessments.
Combined with specific exposure information, government and private
entities use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical
substances in a site-specific
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situation and thereby support risk management decisions designed to
protect public health.
II. How to Submit Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-
0396, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Facsimile: 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 telephone number is
202-566-1752. If you provide comments by mail, please submit one
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and
three copies.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 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. Deliveries are only accepted during the
Public Reading Room's normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. If you
provide comments by hand delivery, please submit one unbound original
with pages numbered consecutively, and 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-
2010-0396. 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 comments include 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 website is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means that EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comments. If you send e-mail
comments directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comments that are placed in the public
docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit electronic
comments, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comments and with any disk or CD-ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your comments due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comments. Electronic files should avoid the use
of special characters and 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: 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, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: May 25, 2010.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-13097 Filed 6-1-10; 8:45 am]
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