[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 51 (Friday, March 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9516-9517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04904]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0313; FRL-9990-88-ORD]


Availability of the Systematic Review Protocol for the Hexavalent 
Chromium (Cr(VI)) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 45-
day public comment period associated with the release of the Systematic 
Review Protocol for the Hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI))] IRIS Assessment. 
This document communicates the rationale for conducting the assessment 
of Cr(VI), describes screening criteria to identify relevant 
literature, outlines the approach for evaluating study quality, and 
describes the process of evidence synthesis/integration and dose-
response methods. The protocol includes the list of studies currently 
considered in the assessment. EPA is releasing this protocol for public 
comment at least 30 days in advance of a public science webinar planned 
on April 24, 2019.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins March 15, 2019 and ends 
April 29, 2019. Comments must be received on or before April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The Systematic Review Protocol for Cr(VI) will be available 
via the internet on the IRIS website at https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris2/chemicalLanding.cfm?substance_nmbr=144 and in the public docket 
at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0313.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the docket, contact 
the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; telephone: 202-
566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: [email protected].
    For technical information on the protocol, contact Dr. James Avery, 
NCEA; telephone: 202-564-1494; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information on the IRIS Program and Systematic Review Protocols

    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 chemicals found in the environment. Through 
the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-based human 
health assessments to support the Agency's regulatory activities and 
decisions to protect public health.
    As part of developing a draft IRIS assessment, EPA presents a 
methods document, referred to as the protocol, for conducting a 
chemical-specific systematic review of the available scientific 
literature. Protocols include strategies for literature searches, 
criteria for study inclusion or exclusion, considerations for 
evaluating study methods, information management for extracting data, 
approaches for synthesis within and across lines of evidence, and 
methods for derivation of toxicity values. The protocol serves to 
inform the subsequent development of the draft assessment and is made 
available to the public. EPA may update the protocol based on the 
evaluation of the literature and any updates will be posted to the 
docket and on the IRIS website. In accordance with the most current 
systematic review practices of the IRIS Program, EPA is releasing the 
Cr(VI) protocol to provide similar public engagement steps as other 
IRIS assessments that have started more recently.

[[Page 9517]]

II. Public Webinar Information

    To allow for public input, EPA is convening a public webinar to 
discuss the Systematic Review Protocol on April 24, 2019. Specific 
teleconference and webinar information regarding this public meeting 
will be provided through the IRIS website (https://www.epa.gov/iris) 
and via EPA's Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) and IRIS listservs. 
To register for the HHRA or IRIS listserv, visit the IRIS website 
(https://www.epa.gov/iris) or visit https://www.epa.gov/iris/forms/staying-connected-integrated-risk-information-system#connect.

III. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at https://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-
0313 for Cr(VI), by one of the following methods:
     https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center (ORD Docket), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The ORD Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
    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 mail or hand delivery, 
please submit three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an 
index, number pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an 
unbound original and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0313 for 
Cr(VI). Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information through https://www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The https://www.regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an email comment directly to EPA without going through https://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you 
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special 
characters, 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the https://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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in https://www.regulations.gov or hard copy at the ORD Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: March 6, 2019.
Tina Bahadori,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2019-04904 Filed 3-14-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P