[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 120 (Friday, June 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28672-28673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13159]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Draft Report on Carcinogens Monograph on Haloacetic Acids Found 
as Water Disinfection By-Products; Availability of Document; Request 
for Comments; Notice of Peer-Review Meeting

SUMMARY: The National Toxicology Program (NTP) announces a meeting to 
peer review the Draft Report on Carcinogens (RoC) Monograph on 
Haloacetic Acids Found as Water Disinfection By-Products. The monograph 
was prepared by the Office of the Report on Carcinogens (ORoC), 
Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP), National Institute 
of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The peer review meeting is 
open to the public. Registration is requested for both public 
attendance and oral comment and required to access the webcast. 
Information about the meeting and registration is available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853.

DATES: 
    Meeting: July 24, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to adjournment at approximately 
4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
    Document Availability: Draft monograph should be available by June 
7, 2017, at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853.
    Written Public Comment Submissions: Deadline is July 14, 2017.
    Registration for Oral Comments: Deadline is July 14, 2017.
    Registration for Meeting and/or to View Webcast: Deadline is July 
24, 2017. Registration to view the meeting via the webcast is required.

ADDRESSES:
    Meeting Location: Rodbell Auditorium, Rall Building, NIEHS, 111 
T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
    Meeting Web page: The draft monograph, preliminary agenda, 
registration, and other meeting materials will be available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853.
    Webcast: The URL for viewing webcast will be provided to those who 
register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Canden Byrd, ICF, 2635 Meridian 
Parkway, Suite 200, Durham, NC, USA 27713. Phone: (919) 293-1660, Fax: 
(919) 293-1645, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The RoC is a congressionally 
mandated, science-based, public health report that identifies agents, 
substances, mixtures, or exposures (collectively called ``substances'') 
in our environment that pose a cancer hazard for people in the United 
States. NTP prepares the RoC on behalf of the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services. NTP follows an established, four-part process for 
preparation of the RoC (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/process/index.html). For each substance selected for review, a draft 
RoC monograph is prepared that presents (1) information on human 
exposure to the substance; (2) an assessment of the evidence from 
cancer studies in humans and experimental animals, mechanisms of 
carcinogenicity, and other data relevant for evaluating the substance's 
potential carcinogenicity; and (3) NTP's preliminary preliminary RoC 
listing recommendation. The draft monograph also contains a draft 
profile that provides the NTP's preliminary listing recommendation for 
the substance and a summary of the scientific evidence considered key 
to reaching that recommendation.
    Haloacetic acids found as drinking water by-products were selected 
for review following solicitation of public comment, review by the NTP 
Board of Scientific Counselors on April 11, 2016, and approval by the 
NTP Director (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/9741).
    Water disinfection is among the most important and beneficial 
public health advances of the 20th century and has substantially 
reduced United States incidence of cholera, typhoid, and amoebic 
dysentery caused by waterborne pathogens. A consequence of the water 
disinfection process is formation of a large number of unintended 
compounds from chemicals and organic material in the water; these 
unintended chemicals are of potential public health concern. Haloacetic 
acids are the second largest group by weight (36%) of total halogenated 
disinfection by-products found in public water supplies. The draft RoC 
monograph includes a cancer hazard assessment of 13 haloacetic acids 
containing chlorine, bromine, or iodine, or a combination of these 
halogens that have been identified in disinfected water.
    Meeting and Registration: The meeting is open to the public with 
time set aside for oral public comment; attendance at the NIEHS is 
limited only by the space available. Registration to attend the meeting 
in-person and/or view the webcast is by July 24, 2017, at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853. Registration is required to view the 
webcast; the URL for the webcast will be provided in the email 
confirming registration. Visitor and security information for those 
attending in-person is available at https://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/visiting/index.cfm. Individuals with disabilities who need 
accommodation to participate in this event should contact Canden Byrd 
by phone: (919) 293-1660 or email: [email protected]. TTY users 
should contact the Federal TTY Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 
Requests should be made at least five business days in advance of the 
event.
    The draft monograph and preliminary agenda will be available on the 
NTP Web site at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853. The draft monograph 
should be available by June 7, 2017. Additional information will be 
posted when available or may be requested in hardcopy, see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Following the meeting, a report of the peer review 
will be prepared and made available on the NTP Web site. Individuals 
are

[[Page 28673]]

encouraged to access the meeting Web page to stay abreast of the most 
current information regarding the meeting.
    Request for Comments: NTP invites written and oral public comments 
on the draft monograph. The deadline for submission of written comments 
is July 14, 2017, to enable review by the peer review panel and NTP 
staff prior to the meeting. Registration to provide oral comments is by 
July 14, 2017, at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853. Public comments 
and any other correspondence on the draft monograph should be sent to 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Persons submitting written 
comments should include their name, affiliation, mailing address, 
phone, email, and sponsoring organization (if any). Written comments 
received in response to this notice will be posted on the NTP Web site, 
and the submitter will be identified by name, affiliation, and/or 
sponsoring organization (if any). Guidelines for public comments are at 
https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/about_ntp/guidelines_public_comments_508.pdf.
    Public comment at this meeting is welcome, with time set aside for 
the presentation of oral comments on the draft monograph. In addition 
to in-person oral comments at the NIEHS, public comments can be 
presented by teleconference line. There will be 50 lines for this call; 
availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. The lines will be 
open from 8:30 a.m. until adjournment at approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT on 
July 24, 2017, although oral comments will be received only during the 
formal public comment periods indicated on the preliminary agenda. The 
access number for the teleconference line will be provided to 
registrants by email prior to the meeting. Each organization is allowed 
one time slot. At least 7 minutes will be allotted to each time slot, 
and if time permits, the allotment may be extended to 10 minutes at the 
discretion of the chair.
    Persons wishing to make an oral presentation are asked to register 
online at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/38853 by July 14, 2017, and 
indicate whether they will present comments in-person or via the 
teleconference line. If possible, oral public commenters should send a 
copy of their slides and/or statement or talking points at that time. 
Written statements can supplement and may expand the oral presentation. 
Registration for in-person oral comments will also be available at the 
meeting, although time allowed for presentation by on-site registrants 
may be less than that for registered speakers and will be determined by 
the number of speakers who register on-site.
    Background Information on the RoC: Published biennially, each 
edition of the RoC is cumulative and consists of substances newly 
reviewed in addition to those listed in previous editions. For each 
listed substance, the RoC contains a substance profile, which provides 
information on cancer studies that support the listing--including those 
in humans, animals, and studies on possible mechanisms of action--
information about potential sources of exposure to humans, and current 
federal regulations to limit exposures. The 14th RoC, the latest 
edition, was published on November 3, 2016 (available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/roc14).
    Background Information on NTP Peer Review Panels: NTP panels are 
technical, scientific advisory bodies established on an ``as needed'' 
basis to provide independent scientific peer review and advise the NTP 
on agents of public health concern, new/revised toxicological test 
methods, or other issues. These panels help ensure transparent, 
unbiased, and scientifically rigorous input to the program for its use 
in making credible decisions about human hazard, setting research and 
testing priorities, and providing information to regulatory agencies 
about alternative methods for toxicity screening. NTP welcomes 
nominations of scientific experts for upcoming panels. Scientists 
interested in serving on an NTP panel should provide current curriculum 
vitae to the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see above). The authority 
for NTP panels is provided by 42 U.S.C. 217a; section 222 of the Public 
Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. The panel is governed by the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which 
sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees.

    Dated: June 6, 2017.
John R. Bucher,
Associate Director, National Toxicology Program.
[FR Doc. 2017-13159 Filed 6-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P