[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 240 (Monday, December 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74082-74084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29191]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9919-98-ORD]


Announcement of the IRIS Bimonthly Public Science Meeting 
Calendar for 2015

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of IRIS Bimonthly Public Science Meetings for calendar 
year 2015.

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SUMMARY: EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program is 
committed to proactive stakeholder engagement, transparency, and using 
the best available science in IRIS assessments. In accordance with the 
increased stakeholder engagement enhancements adopted by the IRIS 
Program, EPA is announcing a series of public science meetings for 
calendar year 2015 to obtain public input at specific stages in the 
process of developing an IRIS assessment.

DATES: The 2015 IRIS Bimonthly Public Science Meetings will be held on 
the dates specified below. They will generally begin at 9:00 a.m. and 
end at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, or earlier, if comments and discussions 
have been completed. A two day time period has been reserved for each 
meeting, but the actual duration will be specified when the agendas are 
developed for each meeting throughout the year. All future 
announcements and information about the meetings planned for 2015, and 
the availability of EPA meeting materials for the chemicals undergoing 
assessment by the IRIS Program, will be posted on the IRIS Web site 
(http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/). In the event there are no 
materials to be discussed for any of the set meeting dates, a notice 
canceling the meeting will be posted on the IRIS Web site.

IRIS Bimonthly Public Science Meetings Dates

February 25-26, 2015
April 29-30, 2015
June 17-18, 2015
September 2-3, 2015
October 28-29, 2015
December 16-17, 2015

ADDRESSES: The public meetings announced in this notice will be held at 
the EPA conference center at One Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 
South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22202. To gain entrance to 
this EPA building, attendees must register at the security desk in the 
lobby and present photo identification. In accordance with the Real ID 
Act, which went into effect on July 2014, driver's license from Alaska, 
American Samoa, Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, 
New York, Oklahoma, and Washington will not be accepted as a photo ID. 
Detailed information on photo ID requirements are provided on the IRIS 
public meeting Web site. To promote the broadest possible 
participation, a webinar and teleconference line will also be available 
for registered attendees/discussants.
    EPA will make every effort to accommodate persons with 
disabilities. For information on access or services for individuals 
with disabilities, contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, Environmental 
Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Mail 
Code: 8601P; telephone: 703-347-8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or 
email: [email protected] and include your name and contact 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information about IRIS 
public meetings, please contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, 
Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA), Mail Code: 8601P; telephone: 703-347-8592; 
facsimile: 703-347-8689; or email: [email protected]. For 
information regarding the subject matter of a specific meeting, please 
contact the EPA representative identified on the IRIS public meeting 
Web site that will be established for each meeting (http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About IRIS

    EPA's IRIS Program is a human health assessment program that 
evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that 
may result from exposure to chemical substances found in the 
environment. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality 
science-based human health assessments to support EPA's regulatory 
activities and decisions to protect public health. The IRIS database 
contains information for chemical substances that can be used to 
support the first two steps (hazard identification and dose-response 
evaluation) of the human health risk assessment process. When supported 
by available data, IRIS provides health effects information and 
toxicity values for health effects (including cancer and effects other 
than cancer). Government and others combine IRIS toxicity values with 
exposure information to characterize public health risks of chemical 
substances; this information is then used to support risk management 
decisions designed to protect public health.

II. IRIS Public Science Meetings Conducted in 2013 and 2014

    The IRIS Program began conducting Bimonthly Public Science Meetings 
in December 2013 and continued through 2014. During this period, a 
total of five public science meetings were held. These meetings covered 
12 chemicals undergoing assessment, including 2 assessments undergoing 
problem formulation, 8 assessments in the step 1 literature search and 
evidence table phase, and 2 assessments in the step 4 draft assessment 
phase as indicated in the following table.

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                  Date                                       Step                                                  Chemical
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 12-13, 2013....................  Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence      [ssquf] ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE).
                                           Table.                                    [ssquf] Tert-butyl alcohol (tert-butanol).
                                          Step 4 Public Comment Draft..............  [ssquf] hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX).
 
                                          [ssquf] ethylene oxide (EtO).............
                                          [ssquf] benzo[a]pyrene (BaP).............
April 23-24, 2014.......................  Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence      [ssquf] hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
                                           Table.                                    [ssquf] diethyl phthalate (DEP).
June 25-27, 2014........................  Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence      [ssquf] inorganic arsenic (iAs).
                                           Table.                                    [ssquf] hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)).

[[Page 74083]]

 
September 3, 2014.......................  Step 0 Problem Formulation...............  [ssquf] ethylbenzene.
                                                                                     [ssquf] naphthalene.
October 29-30, 2014.....................  Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence      [ssquf] hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)).
                                           Table.                                    [ssquf] diisononyl phthalate (DINP).
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    Meeting materials for each of these meetings are available on the 
IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/). A chemical 
specific docket has also been established (http://www.regulations.gov) 
where public comments and presentations are available for each of the 
chemicals discussed at an IRIS public science meeting. In addition, a 
general IRIS docket (EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0211) is available at 
Regulations.gov for comments on cross-cutting issues broadly applicable 
to IRIS assessments. The IRIS public meeting Web site and chemical 
specific dockets are intended to provide transparency regarding 
stakeholder input on IRIS assessments. Posting of public comments and 
presentations are not an EPA endorsement of, or agreement with, any 
information or viewpoints presented in the public comments and 
presentations, nor is it an EPA endorsement of the quality or 
correctness of such information and viewpoints. In addition, mention of 
any trade names or commercial products in posted meeting material does 
not constitute a recommendation by EPA for use.

III. IRIS Public Science Meetings Scheduled for 2015

    Public meetings will be held approximately every 2 months beginning 
on February 25-26, 2015. Materials for the public meetings will begin 
to be posted on the IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/) in advance of the meeting (generally 2-3 months). The 
meetings will provide an opportunity for the public to provide input on 
problem formulation and preliminary materials prior to development of 
the draft assessment and provide input on drafts of assessments and 
charges to the peer review panels prior to external peer review. The 
planned meeting dates for calendar year 2015 are: February 25-26, 2015; 
April 29-30, 2015; June 17-18, 2015; September 2-3, 2015; October 28-
29, 2015; and December 16-17, 2015.
    Before an IRIS assessment begins, EPA releases scoping and problem 
formulation materials which frame the scientific questions and key 
issues that will be addressed in the assessment. In step 1 of the IRIS 
process (development of the draft assessment), EPA releases preliminary 
materials comprised of the draft literature search strategies, 
describing the processes for identifying and screening scientific 
literature, and the literature search results, and the preliminary 
evidence tables and preliminary exposure-response arrays summarizing 
key characteristics and findings from studies that EPA proposes to 
consider when identifying hazards and characterizing exposure-response 
relationships. EPA will hold a public meeting to discuss these 
materials. In step 4 of the IRIS process (public review and comment/
independent expert peer review), EPA releases the draft assessment and 
draft peer review charge for public comment and also holds a public 
meeting to discuss these materials.
    The IRIS Program believes that public involvement can be most 
beneficial at the early stages of developing an assessment. Releasing 
problem formulation materials, the draft literature search strategy, 
preliminary evidence tables, and preliminary exposure response arrays 
early will ensure that critical research is not omitted and 
communicates to the public the body of literature chosen for further 
evaluation, helping frame major scientific questions and ultimately 
leading to more efficient production of assessments. Meeting materials 
provided at the early stage of an assessment, such as preliminary 
evidence tables, have not been subjected to external peer review, and 
they do not constitute EPA policy, support an EPA decision or position, 
or represent any EPA determination. Such materials are being 
distributed with the sole objective of facilitating a public scientific 
discussion that is intended to promote the use of the best available 
science and improve the utility and clarity of IRIS assessments.

IV. Meeting Registration

    Individuals planning to attend an IRIS Bimonthly Public Science 
Meeting must register for each Bimonthly meeting. Registrants are 
required to provide their name, contact information, company/
organization, and to identify the organization they are representing if 
they are attending on behalf of another organization. Registrants must 
also indicate whether they would like to participate as an opening 
discussant on one or more of the key science questions identified by 
EPA. If a registrant intends to request time on the agenda as an 
opening discussant they should register no later than 30 days before 
the meeting. All other participants should register no later than 7 
days before the meeting. Details regarding registration procedures (in 
person, via webinar, or teleconference) for each meeting will be posted 
on the IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/).

V. Meeting Materials and Meeting Format

    The assessment materials and the key science questions that will be 
discussed at each public science meeting will be posted on the IRIS Web 
site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/) 2 to 3 months before each 
meeting. The IRIS Program uses a meeting format intended to promote 
public discussion. This format emphasizes conversational exchanges over 
presentations, with slides used mainly to present concepts and data via 
figures and tables. To provide a reasonable opportunity for all 
stakeholders to participate in a thoughtful public dialogue on the 
scientific questions, it is important that comments and visual aids 
opening discussants intend to use during the meeting be made available 
to the public prior to the meeting. Therefore, opening discussants are 
requested to submit these materials to the appropriate chemical docket, 
and the meeting organizer specified on the IRIS Web site, two weeks in 
advance of the meeting. Materials submitted to the docket will become 
available to the public shortly after submission.

VI. Independent Scientific Experts

    The IRIS Program has benefited from the scientific discussions and 
information presented during the 2013 and 2014 Bimonthly Public Science 
Meetings. In May 2014, the National Research Council (NRC) 2014 Report 
on the IRIS Process was released. The NRC report recommended EPA 
continue with additional efforts to ensure the full breadth of 
perspectives are made available to EPA when discussing the IRIS process 
and specific IRIS assessments. To broaden the input the IRIS Program 
receives at the Bimonthly Public Science Meetings, EPA has asked the 
National Research Council to identify additional scientific experts to

[[Page 74084]]

participate in the Bimonthly Public Science Meeting discussions. All 
stakeholders and the public will continue to have the same opportunity 
to participate as discussants by registering for the meetings under the 
established procedures. Experts identified by the National Research 
Council, reviewed for conflict of interest and bias, will participate 
as discussants in their own capacity to contribute intellectual 
leadership to discussions on critical scientific questions. The final 
determination of who serves as an expert participant is made 
independently by the National Research Council.

VII. How to Submit Materials to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

    EPA invites the public to submit comments and other relevant 
information regarding the chemicals discussed at a public science 
meeting to the appropriate docket number established for each chemical 
when the agenda for each meeting is released. Such data, information, 
or comments may be submitted to the appropriate docket by one of the 
following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting materials
     Email: [email protected]
     Facsimile: 202-566-9744
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center [ORD Docket], (Mail Code: 28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. The telephone number is 202-566-1752. If you 
provide materials by mail, please submit one unbound original with 
pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of the materials. For 
attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the 
comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
     Hand Delivery: The ORD Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. 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. 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 
hand delivery, please submit one unbound original with pages numbered 
consecutively, and three copies of the comments. For attachments, 
provide an index, number pages consecutively with the comments, and 
submit an unbound original and three copies.
    It is EPA's policy to include all materials it receives in the 
public docket without change and to make the materials available online 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless materials include 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 email. Posting of materials received in the 
public docket is not an EPA endorsement of, or agreement with, any 
information or viewpoints presented in the materials, nor is it an EPA 
endorsement of the quality or correctness of such information and 
viewpoints. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means that EPA will not know your identity or 
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your 
materials. If you send email comments directly to EPA without going 
through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the materials that are 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit electronic materials, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your materials and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your materials due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your materials. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters and 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.
    All 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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: December 5, 2014.
Gina Perovich,
Acting Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2014-29191 Filed 12-12-14; 8:45 am]
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