[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32178-32179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13620]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0015; FRL-9159-4]


Release of Final Document Related to the Review of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of 
EPA is announcing the availability of a final document titled, 
Quantitative Risk and Exposure Assessment for Carbon Monoxide (REA). 
The REA describes

[[Page 32179]]

quantitative analyses that have been conducted as part of the review of 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for carbon monoxide 
(CO).

DATES: The REA will be available on or about May 28, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The document will be available primarily via the Internet at 
the following Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to this 
document, please contact Dr. Deirdre Murphy, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
[email protected]; telephone: 919-541-0729; fax: 919-541-0237.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), the Administrator identifies and lists certain pollutants which 
``cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be 
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues 
air quality criteria for these listed pollutants, which are commonly 
referred to as ``criteria pollutants.'' The air quality criteria are to 
``accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in 
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public 
health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a] 
pollutant in the ambient air, in varying quantities.'' Under section 
109 of the CAA, EPA establishes primary (health-based) and secondary 
(welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality criteria are 
issued. Section 109(d) of the CAA requires periodic review and, if 
appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The revised air 
quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the 
effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is also 
required to periodically review and revise the NAAQS, if appropriate, 
based on the revised criteria.
    Presently, EPA is reviewing the NAAQS for CO. The EPA's overall 
plan and schedule for this review is presented in the Plan for Review 
of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide.\1\ A 
draft of this integrated review plan was released for public review and 
comment in March 2008 and was the subject of a consultation with the 
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) on April 8, 2008 (73 FR 
12998). Comments received from that consultation and from the public 
were considered in finalizing the plan for the review.
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    \1\ EPA 452R-08-005; August 2008; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_cr_pd.html.
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    As part of EPA's review of the primary (health-based) CO NAAQS, the 
Agency has conducted qualitative and quantitative assessments 
characterizing the health risks associated with exposure to ambient CO. 
The EPA's plans for conducting these assessments, including the 
proposed scope and methods of the analyses, were presented in a 
planning document titled, Carbon Monoxide National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk and Exposure 
Assessment (Scope and Methods Plan). This planning document was 
released for public comment in April 2009 and was the subject of a 
consultation with the CASAC on May 13, 2009 (74 FR 15265). First and 
second external review drafts of the REA were released for CASAC review 
and public comment in October 2009 (74 FR 55843) and February 2010 (75 
FR 10252), respectively, and were the subjects of CASAC review meetings 
in November 2009 (74 FR 54042) and March 2010 (75 FR 9206), 
respectively. In preparing the final REA, EPA has considered comments 
received from CASAC and the public on these earlier draft documents. 
The REA document announced today conveys the approaches taken to assess 
exposures to ambient CO and to characterize associated health risks, as 
well as presents key results, observations, and related uncertainties 
associated with the quantitative analyses performed. This document will 
be available on or about May 28, 2010, through the Agency's Technology 
Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_index.html. This document may be accessed in the 
``Documents from Current Review'' section under ``Risk and Exposure 
Assessments.''

    Dated: May 27, 2010.
Jennifer Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-13620 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
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