[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13286-13287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06617]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-0655; FRL-9991-57-ORD]


Availability of the IRIS Assessment Plan for Methylmercury

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30-
day public comment period associated with release of the draft IRIS 
Assessment Plan for Methylmercury. This document communicates 
information on the scoping needs identified by EPA program and regional 
offices and the IRIS Program's initial problem formulation activities. 
Specifically, the assessment plan outlines the objectives for each 
assessment and the type of evidence considered most pertinent to 
address the scoping needs. EPA is releasing this draft IRIS Assessment 
Plan for a 30-day public comment period in advance of a public science 
webinar planned for May 15, 2019. The Agency encourages the public to 
comment on all aspects of the assessment plan, including key science 
issues.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins April 4, 2019 and ends 
May 6, 2019. Comments must be received on or before May 6, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The draft IRIS Assessment Plan for Methylmercury will be 
available via the internet on the IRIS website at https://www.epa.gov/iris/iris-recent-additions and in the public docket at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-0655.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, 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 draft IRIS Assessment Plan for 
Methylmercury, contact Dr. James Avery, NCEA; telephone: 202-564-1494; 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About IRIS Assessment Plans

    EPA's IRIS Program is a human health assessment program that 
evaluates quantitative and qualitative information on the health 
effects that may result from exposure to chemicals found in the 
environment. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides high quality 
science-based human health assessments to support the Agency's 
regulatory activities and decisions to protect public health. As part 
of scoping and initial problem formulation activities prior to the 
development of a draft assessment, the IRIS Program carries out a 
broad, preliminary literature survey to assist in identifying health 
effects that have been studied in relation to the chemical or substance 
of interest, as well as science issues that may need to be considered 
when evaluating toxicity. This information, in conjunction with scoping 
needs identified by EPA program and regional offices, is used to inform 
the development of an IRIS Assessment Plan (IAP).
    The IAP communicates the plan for developing each individual 
chemical assessment to the public and includes summary information on 
the IRIS Program's scoping and initial problem formulation, objectives 
and specific aims for the assessment, and a PECO (Populations, 
Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes) for the systematic review. The 
PECO provides the framework for developing detailed literature search 
strategies and inclusion/exclusion criteria, particularly with respect 
to evidence stream (e.g., human, animal, mechanistic), exposure 
measures, and outcome measures. The IAP serves to inform the subsequent 
development of chemical-specific systematic review protocols, which 
will be made available for public review.

II. Public Webinar Information

    To allow for public input, EPA is convening a public webinar to 
discuss the draft IRIS Assessment Plan for Methylmercury on May 15, 
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 http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-
0655 for Methylmercury, by one of the following methods:
     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

[[Page 13287]]

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 Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2018-0655 for Methylmercury. 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 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 
www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The 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 
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 www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the 
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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: March 26, 2019.
Mary Ross,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2019-06617 Filed 4-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P