[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34978-34979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14763]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

 [EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0207; FRL-8875-1]


Petition Supplement Requesting Cancellation of Propoxur Pet 
Collar Uses; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice makes available for review and public comment a 
second petition supplement submitted by the Natural Resources Defense 
Council (NRDC) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the 
Agency) on January 18, 2011. This second supplement supports NRDC's 
original petition, dated November 26, 2007, requesting that the Agency 
cancel all pet collar uses for the pesticide propoxur. The petitioner, 
NRDC, initially requested these cancellations based on their belief 
that EPA failed to adequately assess residential exposures to pet 
collars. NRDC believes that modifications to the non-dietary oral 
exposure pathway presented in the Revised N-methyl Carbamate (NMC) 
Cumulative Risk Assessment (CRA) underestimate exposure to propoxur 
from pet collar uses. On April 23, 2009, NRDC supplemented their 
original petition with additional information on the pesticide. In its 
most recent supplement, dated January 18, 2011, NRDC states that the 
EPA's occupational and residential exposure (ORE) risk assessment for 
propoxur pet collars uses, dated April 7, 2010, as well as the follow-
up memorandum refining the ORE risk assessment, dated July 12, 2010, 
present health risks above EPA's level of concern. NRDC believes that 
the Agency used incorrect exposure assumptions and failed to adequately 
assess all routes of exposure, leading to an underestimation of 
residential risk to children from propoxur pet collars. Finally, under 
cover letter dated February 4, 2011, NRDC also submitted to EPA 7,577 
letters supporting its petition supplement.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0207, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket Facility's normal hours of operation (8:30 
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). 
Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information. The Docket Facility telephone number is: (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2009-0207. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at: 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the 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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The 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 regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the 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.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at http://www.regulations.gov. 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, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either in the electronic 
docket at: http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard 
copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac 
Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 
operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone 
number is: (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kaitlin Keller, Chemical Review 
Manager, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8172; e-mail 
address: keller.kaitlin@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental and 
human health advocates; the chemical industry; pet owners; pesticide 
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, 
or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all

[[Page 34979]]

the specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have 
any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a 
particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

What action is the agency taking?

    EPA requests public comment during the next 30 days on a second 
petition supplement received from NRDC, dated January 18, 2011, 
requesting that the Agency cancel all pet collar uses for the pesticide 
propoxur. To date, NRDC has submitted:
    1. A petition dated November 26, 2007 as a public comment to the 
Revised N-methyl Carbamate Cumulative Risk Assessment docket EPA-HQ-
OPP-2007-0935;
    2. A petition supplement, dated April 23, 2009, which included an 
NRDC study report;
    3. A mass comment campaign from April 8, 2009 to June 8, 2009 which 
includes approximately 8,600 letters to EPA requesting the cancellation 
of tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur in pet products;
    4. Comments on the Propoxur Preliminary Work Plan for registration 
review, dated February 16, 2010;
    5. A second petition supplement dated January 18, 2011; and,
    6. A mass comment campaign, which includes approximately 7,577 
letters supporting its January 18, 2011 petition supplement, submitted 
under cover letter dated February 2, 2011.
    7. All documents are available under EPA docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OPP-2009-0207. Again, however, by today's notice, EPA seeks comment 
only on NRDC's second petition supplement dated January 18, 2011.
    In its second petition supplement dated January 18, 2011, on which 
EPA now seeks comment, NRDC states that the April 7, 2010 ORE 
assessment indicates risks above EPA's level of concern for children's 
incidental oral exposure, and that EPA should, therefore, take action 
to cancel propoxur pet collar uses. NRDC claims that exposure levels 
from pet collars for household children may be significantly higher 
than EPA estimates based on common daily activities and contact between 
children and pets. Furthermore, NRDC claims that the April 7, 2010 ORE 
risk assessment includes inadequate assumptions in exposure scenarios 
for children and lacks adequate consideration for dermal exposure and 
cancer risks.
    In 2009, EPA initiated the registration review process of propoxur. 
The final work plan and related documents are available on the 
electronic docket at: EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0806. The 2007 Revised N-methyl 
Carbamate Cumulative Risk Assessment (NMCCRA), related documents, and 
comments are available in the electronic docket at: EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-
0935. EPA's 1997 Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for Propoxur 
is available on EPA's pesticide Web page at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/status.htm.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Natural Resources Defense Council, 
Pesticides and pests, Propoxur.

    Dated: June 7, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-14763 Filed 6-14-11; 8:45 am]
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