[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 132 (Thursday, July 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39386-39387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16176]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138; FRL-9913-60-OW]


Peer Review of the Draft Health Effects Documents for 
Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate--Final List of 
Peer Reviewers and Notice of the Peer Review Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final peer reviewer selection and external peer 
review meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
final peer reviewers assembled by Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor, for 
external peer review of the draft documents entitled ``Health Effects 
Document for Perfluorooctanoic Acid'' and ``Health Effects Document for 
Perfluorooctane Sulfonate.'' The peer reviewers are charged with 
reviewing the scientific and technical merit of the EPA draft health 
effect documents. EPA is also announcing that Versar, Inc. will 
organize and conduct the external peer review meeting for the EPA draft 
health effects documents on August 21 and 22, 2014 in Arlington, 
Virginia. The meeting will be devoted to discussion and deliberation of 
major issues identified by the peer reviewers regarding EPA's draft 
health documents and will be guided by the charge questions previously 
provided to the public. Versar, Inc. invites the public to register to 
attend this two-day meeting as observers, either in-person or via 
teleconference. Registered observers may attend and observe the peer 
review deliberations, but will not be allowed to address the peer 
reviewers or provide oral or written comments at the meeting.

DATES: The public external peer review meeting will be held on August 
21 and 22, 2014, beginning and ending at approximately 8:30 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m. (EDT) on both days. The registration deadline to attend the 
meeting in-person or via teleconference is August 18, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The peer review meeting will be held at the Crystal City 
Marriott at Reagan National Airport, located at 1999 Jefferson Davis 
Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. The phone number for the teleconference 
line will be provided to registered observers prior to the meeting.
    Registration Instructions: To attend the peer review meeting as an 
observer, either in-person or via teleconference, register no later 
than August 18, 2014. Space is limited for in-person

[[Page 39387]]

attendance, and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-
served basis. To register for the meeting, please visit http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa/registration.html, complete the online 
registration form, and submit the required information. You can also 
register through U.S. Postal Service or overnight/priority mail by 
sending the necessary registration information (see Registration 
Information) to the Versar Meeting Coordinator, Ms. Betzy Colon, 
Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA 22151; telephone: 
(703) 642-6727. Registrations sent via U.S. Postal Service or 
overnight/priority mail must be received by August 18, 2014.
    Registration Information: To register for the meeting online or via 
mail, please provide your full name, title, organization or 
affiliation, and contact information. You must also indicate which 
day(s) you plan to attend the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding logistics or 
registration for the external peer review meeting should be directed to 
Ms. Betzy Colon, Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA, 
22151; telephone: (703) 642-6727; or via email at [email protected]. 
For additional information concerning EPA's draft health effects 
documents, please contact Joyce Donohue at U.S. EPA, Office of Water, 
Health and Ecological Criteria Division (Mail Code 4304T), 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (202) 566-
1098; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information on the Draft Health Effects Documents

    EPA released the draft health effects documents for 
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) for 
purposes of public comment (scientific views) and peer review on 
February 28, 2014 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-02-28/pdf/2014-04455.pdf), 79 FR 11429. The 60-day public comment period ended on 
April 29, 2014. EPA will consider peer reviewer and public comments 
when finalizing the documents. Once the health effects documents are 
finalized, they will be utilized to develop lifetime health advisory 
values for each chemical. The draft documents, draft charge questions, 
and public comments submitted during the public comment period may be 
viewed at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-
0138). The draft documents and charge questions may also be viewed at 
http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa.

II. Information About the Peer Reviewers

    Consistent with guidelines for the peer review of highly 
influential scientific assessments, EPA tasked a contractor (Versar, 
Inc.) to assemble six to seven experts to evaluate the draft documents. 
Versar, Inc. evaluated 29 candidates who were either nominated during a 
previous public comment period (February 28, 2014 to March 21, 2014) or 
were identified by Versar to augment the list of publically-nominated 
candidates. Versar narrowed the list of potential reviewers to 15 
candidates and solicited public comments on the interim list on April 
30, 2014 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-04-30/pdf/2014-09888.pdf), 79 FR 24419. Using the selection criteria described in the 
Federal Register dated February 28, 2014 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-02-28/pdf/2014-04455.pdf), 79 FR 11429, Versar selected the 
final seven peer reviewers who, collectively, best provide expertise 
spanning the multiple subject matter areas covered by the draft 
documents and, to the extent feasible, best provide a balance of 
perspectives. Additional information on the scientific peer reviewer 
selection process can be found at: http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa.
    The final list of seven selected peer reviewers is provided below.

1. Dr. James Bruckner--University of Georgia
2. Dr. Deborah Cory-Slechta--University of Rochester School of Medicine 
and Dentistry
3. Dr. Jamie DeWitt--East Carolina University
4. Dr. Jeffrey Fisher--U.S. Food & Drug Administration
5. Dr. William Hayton--The Ohio State University (Emeritus)
6. Dr. Matthew Longnecker--National Institute of Environmental Health 
Sciences
7. Dr. Angela Slitt--University of Rhode Island

    EPA requests that no individual or organization contact in any way 
the contractor (Versar, Inc.) or the peer reviewers regarding the 
subject of the peer review meeting, send them written materials 
regarding the subject of the meeting, or make any offers or requests to 
any of them that appear to be linked to their participation in the peer 
review. The Contractor (Versar, Inc.) will direct the reviewers to 
report any such contacts to the Contractor (Versar, Inc), who will take 
appropriate action in consultation with EPA to ensure the independence 
and impartiality of the peer review.

III. Information About the Peer Review Meeting

    The peer reviewers have been charged with evaluating and preparing 
written comments on the draft PFOA and PFOS health effects documents. 
Specifically, reviewers will provide general comments, their overall 
impressions of the documents, and responses to 12 charge questions. 
Reviewers will also consider the appropriateness of the quality, 
accuracy, and relevance of the data in the documents. Comments 
submitted to EPA's public docket (Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138) 
during each document's 60-day public comment period will also be 
provided to the peer reviewers ahead of the meeting for their 
consideration.
    Peer reviewers will participate in the two-day peer review meeting 
to discuss the scientific basis supporting EPA's draft health effects 
documents. Following the peer review meeting, Versar will provide a 
peer review summary report to EPA containing the comments and 
recommendations from the peer reviewers. The final peer review report 
will also be made available to the public. In preparing the final 
health effects documents, EPA will consider Versar's report of the 
comments and recommendations from the external peer review meeting, as 
well as written public comments received through the official public 
docket.

    Dated: July 2, 2014.
Nancy K. Stoner,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2014-16176 Filed 7-9-14; 8:45 am]
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