[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34638-34639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14955]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0276; FRL-9927-37]


Draft Test Guidelines; Series 810--Product Performance Test 
Guidelines; Notice of Availability and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability for comment of several 
810 series, non-binding, draft test guidelines developed by the Office 
of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The test 
guidelines provide guidance on conducting testing by the public and 
companies that are subject to EPA data submission requirements under 
OCSPP's major statutory mandates.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0276, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: 
Melissa

[[Page 34639]]

Chun, Regulatory Coordination Staff (7101M), Office of Chemical Safety 
and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 564-1605; email address: [email protected].
    For technical information contact: Stephen Tomasino, Biological and 
Economic Analysis Division (7503P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Science Center, 701 
Mapes Road, Ft. Meade, MD 20755-5350; telephone number: (410) 305-2976; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. Although this 
action may be of particular interest to those persons who are or may be 
required to conduct testing of pesticides and other chemical substances 
for submission of data to EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act 
(TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., and/or the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a, the Agency has not 
attempted to describe all 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 technical 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 email. 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 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 preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
    3. Electronic access to the OCSPP Test Guidelines. You may access 
the guidelines in regulations.gov at http://www.regulations.gov, 
grouped by series under docket ID numbers: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0150 
through EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0159, and EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0576.

II. Background

    The test guidelines serve as a compendium of accepted scientific 
methodologies and protocols that are intended to provide data to inform 
regulatory decisions under TSCA, FIFRA, and/or FFDCA. The test 
guidelines provide guidance for conducting the test, and are also used 
by EPA, the public, and companies that are subject to data submission 
requirements under TSCA, FIFRA, and/or FFDCA.
    As guidance documents, the test guidelines are not binding on 
either EPA or any outside parties, and EPA may depart from the test 
guidelines where circumstances warrant and without prior notice. At 
places in these guidance documents, the Agency uses the word 
``should.'' In these guidance documents, use of ``should'' with regard 
to an action means that the action is recommended rather than 
mandatory. The procedures contained in the test guidelines are 
recommended for generating the data that are the subject of the test 
guidelines, but EPA recognizes that departures may be appropriate in 
specific situations. You may propose alternatives to the 
recommendations described in the test guidelines, and the Agency will 
assess them for appropriateness on a case-by-case basis.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is making available for comment the following 810 Series draft 
test guidelines: OCSPP Test Guideline 810.2000--General Considerations 
for Testing Antimicrobial Agents, OCSPP Test Guideline 810.2100--
Sterilants & Sporicides Recommendations for Efficacy Testing, and OCSPP 
Test Guideline 810.2200--Disinfectants for Use on Hard Surfaces--
Efficacy Data Recommendations.
    The Agency published the notice announcing the final test 
guidelines for these product performance testing guidelines for 
antimicrobial agents in the Federal Register of March 16, 2012 (77 FR 
15750) (FRL-9332-4). Since then, the Agency has received information 
from the users that these test guidelines are confusing and in some 
cases, inaccurate. The test guidelines have been re-formatted to be 
more user friendly, correct technical information, and include updates 
from policy documents published after 2012. As noted in section I.B.3 
of this notice, the public can access the guidelines in regulations.gov 
at http://www.regulations.gov, grouped by series under docket ID 
numbers: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0150 through EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0159, and EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2009-0576.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.; 21 
U.S.C. 301 et seq.

    Dated: June 4, 2015.
James Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-14955 Filed 6-16-15; 8:45 am]
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