[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70776-70777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28722]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9752-2; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0051]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of a document titled, 
``Third External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' 
(EPA/600/R-10/075C). The document was prepared by the National Center 
for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and 
Development as part of the review of the national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS) for lead (Pb).
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date 
and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register Notice). 
The draft document does not represent and should not be construed to 
represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in response to this notice when 
revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins, November 27, 2012, and ends 
January 28, 2013. Comments must be received on or before January 28, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: The ``Third External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Lead'' will be available primarily via the Internet on 
the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the 
Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A 
limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be available. Contact Ms. 
Marieka Boyd by phone (919-541-0031), fax (919-541-5078), or email 
([email protected]) to request either of these, and please provide 
your name, your mailing address, and the document title, ``Third 
External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' (EPA/
600/R-10/075C) to facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr. 
Ellen Kirrane, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-1340; facsimile: 919-541-2985; 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108 (a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants which, among other things, ``cause or 
contribute to air pollution, which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria 
for them. These 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 * * *.'' 
Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA has 
issued criteria. Section 109 (d) of the Act subsequently requires 
periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality 
criteria to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of 
the pollutant on public health or welfare. EPA is also to periodically 
review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, based on the revised air 
quality criteria.
    Pb is one of six principal (or ``criteria'') pollutants for which 
EPA has established NAAQS. Periodically, EPA reviews the scientific 
basis for these standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment 
(ISA) (formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document). The ISA 
provides a concise review, synthesis, and evaluation of the most 
policy-relevant science to serve as a scientific foundation for the 
review of the NAAQS. The CASAC, an independent science advisory 
committee mandated by Section 109 (d) (2) of the Clean Air Act, is 
charged with independent scientific review of EPA's air quality 
criteria.
    On February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934), EPA formally initiated its 
current review of the air quality criteria for Pb, requesting the 
submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. Soon 
after, a science policy workshop was held to identify key policy issues 
and questions to frame the review of the Pb NAAQS (75 FR 20843). 
Drawing from the workshop discussions, a draft of EPA's ``Integrated 
Review Plan for the Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
Review'' (EPA/452/D-11-001) was developed and made available in March 
2011 for public comment and was discussed by the CASAC via a publicly 
accessible teleconference consultation on May 5, 2011 (76 FR 21346). 
The final IRP was released in December 2011 (76 FR 76972) and is 
available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_2010_pd.html.
    As part of the science assessment phase of the review, EPA held a 
workshop in December 2010 to discuss, with invited scientific experts, 
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA (75 FR 
69078). The first external review draft ISA for Pb was released on May 
6, 2011 (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226323). 
The CASAC Pb Review Panel met at a public meeting on July 20, 2011, to 
review the draft ISA (76 FR 36120). Subsequently, on December 9, 2011, 
the CASAC Pb Review Panel provided a consensus letter for their review 
to the Administrator of the EPA (http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
sabproduct.nsf/D3E2E8488025344D852579610068A8A1/$File/EPA-CASAC-12-002-
unsigned.pdf). The second external review draft ISA for Pb was released 
on February 2, 2012 (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=235331#Download). The CASAC Pb Review Panel met 
at a public meeting on April 10, 2012, to review the draft ISA (77 FR 
14783). Subsequently, on July 20, 2012, the CASAC Pb Review Panel 
provided a consensus letter for their review to the Administrator of 
the EPA (http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/SABPRODUCT.NSF/
13B1FD83815FA11885257A410064E0DC/$File/EPA-CASAC-12-005-unsigned.pdf). 
The third external review draft ISA for Pb will be discussed at a 
public meeting of the CASAC Pb Review Panel, and timely public comments 
received will be provided to the CASAC panel. A future Federal Register 
Notice will inform the public of the exact date and time of that CASAC 
meeting.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-
0051 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-9744.

[[Page 70777]]

     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 28221T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue 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. 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-
2011-0051. 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 
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 through 
www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your email 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 www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the 
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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 28, 2012.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2012-28722 Filed 11-26-12; 8:45 am]
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