[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4465-4466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01586]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9905-82-OA]


Request for Nominations of Experts To Augment the Science 
Advisory Board Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee for the Review of 
the EPA's Draft Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office requests 
public nominations of scientific experts to augment the SAB Chemical 
Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC) for the review of the EPA's draft 
Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene in Support of Summary 
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by February 18, 2014 per the 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact the Designated Federal Officer for the review, as 
identified below. Nominators unable to submit nominations 
electronically as described below may contact the Designated Federal 
Officer for assistance. General information concerning the EPA SAB can 
be found at the EPA SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The SAB (42 U.S.C. 4365) is a chartered Federal 
Advisory Committee that provides independent scientific and technical 
peer review, advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the 
technical basis for EPA actions. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the 
SAB conducts business in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2) and related regulations. The SAB Chemical 
Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC) is a subcommittee of the SAB that 
provides advice through the chartered SAB regarding assessments of 
environmental chemicals available on EPA's Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS). The SAB and the CAAC, augmented with additional experts, 
will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff 
Office procedural policies.
    The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) in the 
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) develops toxicological 
reviews/assessments for various chemicals for IRIS. NCEA has developed 
a draft IRIS assessment for benzo[a]pyrene and has asked the SAB to 
peer review the draft document. The SAB Staff Office is seeking experts 
to augment the SAB CAAC for this peer review.
    Benzo[a]pyrene is a five-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that 
is relatively insoluble in water and has low volatility. It is 
ubiquitous in the environment primarily as a result of incomplete 
combustion emissions. Natural sources of benzo[a]pyrene include forest 
fires and volcanoes, and anthropogenic sources include stoves/furnaces 
burning fossil fuels (especially wood and coal), motor vehicle exhaust, 
and various industrial combustion processes. Major sources of 
occupational exposure involve production of aluminum, coke, graphite 
and silicon carbide, as well as coal tar distillation. Major sources of 
non-occupational exposure involve tobacco products and diet (e.g., 
barbequed or charred meats).
    NCEA's draft Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene (August 2013) 
is an update to a 1987 IRIS assessment for benzo[a]pyrene. The draft 
assessment and proposed charge questions may be found at the following 
URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/IRIS%20BaP?OpenDocument. The 1987 benzo[a]pyrene assessment currently 
posted to the IRIS database includes an oral cancer risk estimate (oral 
slope factor) and a cancer descriptor. For the reassessment, NCEA 
evaluated epidemiological data, experimental animal data, and other 
relevant data from studies of noncancer and cancer effects of 
benzo[a]pyrene. The 2013 draft assessment contains a qualitative 
characterization of the hazards for benzo[a]pyrene, including a cancer 
descriptor of the chemical's human carcinogenic potential, cancer risk 
estimates for oral, inhalation and dermal exposure, and noncancer 
toxicity values for chronic oral (reference dose) and inhalation 
(reference concentration) exposure. This assessment includes the IRIS 
Program's first dermal slope factor. The dermal analysis was included 
in consideration of EPA's need to estimate the potential for skin 
cancer from dermal exposure, especially in children exposed to 
contaminated soil. [Note: NCEA posted the 2013 draft assessment and 
draft charge questions on the IRIS Web site (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/recordisplay.cfm?deid=66193) on August 21, 2013, which 
initiated a public comment period that ended on November 21, 2013.
    Additionally, on December 12-13, 2013, NCEA held a public meeting 
to obtain stakeholder and public feedback on the draft charge and the 
draft benzo[a]pyrene toxicological assessment. As a result of the 
comments received during the public comment period and the discussions 
at the December meeting, the August 2013 draft versions of these 
documents may be revised prior to their submission to the SAB CAAC 
panel for peer review.]
    Technical Contact for EPA's Draft Assessment: For information 
concerning the EPA draft assessment, please contact Dr. Samantha Jones, 
National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and 
Development, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Mail Code 8601P, 
Washington, DC 20460, phone (703) 347-8580 or via email at 
[email protected].
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise and research to augment the CAAC for the 
peer review of the benzo[a]pyrene toxicological review. The SAB Staff 
Office seeks experts in one or more of the following areas, with a 
particular focus on benzo[a]pyrene: epidemiology with expertise in PAHs 
and benzo[a]pyrene; developmental toxicity and neurotoxicity; 
reproductive toxicity (both male and female); immunotoxicity; 
genotoxicity; cancer biology; dermal toxicity and carcinogenicity, 
including toxicokinetic considerations (e.g., dose metrics, 
extrapolation from animals to humans); and quantitative risk 
assessment, including dose-response modeling expertise. Questions 
regarding this review should be directed to Stephanie Sanzone, 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff Office, by telephone/voice 
mail at (202) 564-2067, by fax at (202) 565-2098, or via email at 
[email protected].
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above for possible service on the augmented CAAC 
panel identified in this notice. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format (preferred over hard copy) following the instructions 
for ``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc

[[Page 4466]]

Committees Being Formed,'' provided on the SAB Web site (see the 
``Nomination of Experts'' link on the blue navigational bar at http://www.epa.gov/sab). To receive full consideration, nominations should 
include all of the information requested below. EPA's SAB Staff Office 
requests contact information about the person making the nomination; 
contact information about the nominee; the disciplinary and specific 
areas of expertise of the nominee; the nominee's resume or curriculum 
vitae; sources of recent grant and/or contract support; and a 
biographical sketch of the nominee indicating current position, 
educational background, research activities, and recent service on 
other national advisory committees or national professional 
organizations.
    Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who 
are unable to submit nominations through the SAB Web site, should 
contact Ms. Sanzone as noted above. Nominations should be submitted in 
time to arrive no later than February 18, 2014. EPA values and welcomes 
diversity. In an effort to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, 
EPA encourages nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic 
groups.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified by 
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates for 
the CAAC benzo[a]pyrene review panel on the SAB Web site at  http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/IRIS%20BaP?OpenDocument. Public comments on the List of Candidates will 
be accepted for 21 days. The public will be requested to provide 
relevant information or other documentation on nominees that the SAB 
Staff Office should consider in evaluating candidates.
    For the EPA SAB Staff Office a balanced review panel includes 
candidates who possess the necessary domains of knowledge, the relevant 
scientific perspectives (which, among other factors, can be influenced 
by work history and affiliation), and the collective breadth of 
experience to adequately address the charge. In forming this expert 
panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the List 
of Candidates, information provided by the candidates themselves, and 
background information independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office. 
Selection criteria to be used for panel membership include: (a) 
Scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge, and experience 
(primary factors); (b) availability and willingness to serve; (c) 
absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an 
appearance of a loss of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees, 
subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f) for the panel as a whole, 
diversity of expertise and scientific points of view.
    The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial 
conflicts of interest will include a review of the ``Confidential 
Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on 
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form allows government 
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between a 
person's public responsibilities (which include membership on an EPA 
federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities, or 
the appearance of a loss of impartiality, as defined by federal 
regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded from the following 
URL address http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/ethics?OpenDocument.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects members 
for subcommittees and review panels is described in the following 
document: Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental 
Protection Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is 
posted on the SAB Web site at  http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.

    Dated: January 16, 2014.
Christopher Zarba,
Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2014-01586 Filed 1-27-14; 8:45 am]
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