[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 190 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61749-61750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21619]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

[Docket No. ATSDR-2016-0004]


Availability of Draft Toxicological Profile for Ethylene Oxide

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announces the 
opening of a docket to obtain comments on the Draft Toxicological 
Profile for Ethylene Oxide.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 29, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number ATSDR-
2016-0004, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Innovation and Analytics, Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Mail Stop S102-1, 
Atlanta, GA, 30329-4027.
    Attn: Docket No. ATSDR-2016-0004.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without 
change to http://regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Henry Abadin, Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, Office of Innovation and Analytics, 
1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Mail Stop S102-1, Atlanta, GA, 30329-4027, Email: 
[email protected]; Phone: 1-800-232-4636.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ATSDR has updated the draft profile based on 
availability of new health effects information since its initial 
release. On March 21, 2016 ATSDR announced that it was preparing to 
develop Draft Toxicological Profiles for public comment release (81 FR 
15110), which include Ethylene Oxide. All toxicological profiles issued 
as ``Drafts for Public Comment'' represent the result of ATSDR's 
evidence-based evaluations to provide important toxicological 
information on priority hazardous substances. ATSDR is seeking public 
comments and additional information or reports on studies about the 
health effects of ethylene oxide for review and potential inclusion in 
the profile. ATSDR considers key studies for these substances during 
the profile development process. This document solicits any relevant, 
additional studies. ATSDR will evaluate the quality and relevance of 
such data or studies for possible inclusion in the profile.

Public Participation

    Interested persons or organizations are invited to participate by 
submitting written views, information, and data.
    Please note that comments received, including attachments and other 
supporting materials, are part of the public record and are subject to 
public

[[Page 61750]]

disclosure. Comments will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Therefore, do not include any information in your comment or supporting 
materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public 
disclosure. If you include your name, contact information, or other 
information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that 
information will be on public display. ATSDR will review all 
submissions and may choose to redact, or withhold, submissions 
containing private or proprietary information such as Social Security 
numbers, medical information, inappropriate language, or duplicate/near 
duplicate examples of a mass-mail campaign. ATSDR will carefully 
consider all comments submitted in preparation of the final 
Toxicological Profile and may revise the profile as appropriate.

Legislative Background

    The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) [42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.] amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund) [42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.] by establishing certain requirements for ATSDR and 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the hazardous 
substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National 
Priorities List (NPL). Among these statutory requirements is a mandate 
for the Administrator of ATSDR to prepare toxicological profiles for 
each substance included on the priority list of hazardous substances 
[also called the Substance Priority List (SPL)]. This list identifies 
275 hazardous substances that ATSDR and EPA have determined pose the 
most significant potential threat to human health. The SPL is available 
online at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/spl.
    In addition, CERCLA provides ATSDR with the authority to prepare 
toxicological profiles for substances not found on the SPL. CERCLA 
authorizes ATSDR to establish and maintain an inventory of literature, 
research, and studies on the health effects of toxic substances (CERCLA 
Section 104(i)(1)(B); 42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(1)(B)); to respond to requests 
for health consultations (CERCLA Section 104(i)(4); 42 U.S.C. 
9604(i)(4)); and to support the site-specific response actions 
conducted by the agency.

Availability

    The Draft Toxicological Profile for Ethylene Oxide will be 
available online at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles and at 
www.regulations.gov, Docket No. ATSDR-2016-0004.

Donata Green,
Acting Director, Office of Policy, Planning, and Partnerships, Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
[FR Doc. 2020-21619 Filed 9-29-20; 8:45 am]
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