[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49487-49489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20083]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9189-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0658]


Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft 
document ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant 
Spray'' (EPA/600/R-10/081). The document is being issued by the 
National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of 
Research and Development. The draft is intended to serve as part of a 
process to help identify and prioritize scientific and technical 
information that could be used in conducting comprehensive 
environmental assessments of selected nanomaterials. It does not 
attempt to draw conclusions regarding potential environmental risks of 
nanoscale silver; rather, it aims to identify what is known and unknown 
about nanoscale silver to support future assessment efforts.
    When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to consider any 
public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this notice.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination 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.
    The draft document is available via the Internet on the NCEA home 
page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins August 13, 2010, and 
ends September 27, 2010. Technical comments should be in writing and 
must be received by EPA by September 27, 2010.

[[Page 49488]]


ADDRESSES: The draft ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in 
Disinfectant Spray'' 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 
Deborah Wales, NCEA-RTP, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; phone: (919) 
541-4731; facsimile: (919) 541-5078. If you are requesting a paper 
copy, please provide your name, your mailing address, and the document 
title, ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant 
Spray.''
    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 Dr. J. Michael Davis, NCEA; 
telephone: (919) 541-4162; facsimile: (919) 685-3331; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About the Project/Document

    Engineered nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) have been described 
as having at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm). 
They often have novel or unique properties that can arise from their 
small size. Like all technological developments, nanomaterials offer 
the potential for both benefits and risks. The assessment of such risks 
and benefits requires information, but given the nascent state of 
nanotechnology, much remains to be learned about the characteristics 
and effects of nanomaterials. The draft document ``Nanomaterial Case 
Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray'' is intended to 
highlight what is known and unknown about nanoscale silver (nano-Ag) as 
part of a process to identify and prioritize information gaps relevant 
to assessing the broad environmental implications, including potential 
ecological as well as human health impacts, of nanomaterials.
    The complex properties of various nanomaterials make it difficult 
to evaluate them in the abstract or with generalizations. Thus, this 
document focuses on a specific example of nano-Ag in disinfectant spray 
products. This ``case study'' does not represent a completed or even a 
preliminary assessment; rather, it uses an assessment framework known 
as comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA), which starts with the 
product life cycle but encompasses fate and transport processes in 
various environmental media, exposure-dose characterization, and 
ecological and health effects, as well as other direct and indirect 
ramifications of both primary and secondary substances or stressors 
associated with a nanomaterial. The CEA approach is both a framework 
and a process; the latter aspect employs a collective judgment process 
that will be the subject of a future announcement.
    Previous EPA case studies focused on nanoscale titanium dioxide 
used in drinking water treatment and in topical sunscreen (U.S. EPA. 
Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water 
Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen (External Review Draft). U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/057, 
2009, available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=210206).

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 2010-
0658, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
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's 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-
2010-0658. 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 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.


[[Page 49489]]


    Dated: August 3, 2010.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-20083 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
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