[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21885-21886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07943]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9718-01-OA]
Request for Nominations for the Science Advisory Board IRIS
Hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI)) Review Panel
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office requests public nominations of scientific
experts to form a Panel to review the draft EPA Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS) Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium
(Cr(VI)). EPA's draft assessment includes a hazard identification
analysis, which summarizes the chemical properties, toxicokinetics, and
health effects associated exposure, and dose-response analysis, which
characterizes the quantitative relationship between chemical exposure
and each credible health hazard. These quantitative relationships are
then used to derive cancer and non-cancer toxicity values (e.g.,
inhalation unit risk, oral slope factor, reference concentration,
reference dose). The SAB Hexavalent Chromium Review Panel will consider
whether the conclusions found in the EPA's draft assessment are clearly
presented and scientifically supported. The Panel will also be asked to
provide recommendations on how the assessment may be strengthened.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by May 4, 2022 per the
instructions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations
may contact Dr. Suhair Shallal, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA
Science Advisory Board via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-2057, or
email at [email protected]. General information concerning the EPA
SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The SAB (42 U.S.C. 4365) is a chartered Federal
Advisory Committee that provides independent scientific and technical
peer review, advice, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on
the technical basis for EPA actions. As a Federal Advisory Committee,
the SAB conducts business in accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. app. 2) and related regulations. The SAB
Staff Office is forming an expert panel, the SAB Hexavalent Chromium
Review Panel, under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The SAB
Hexavalent Chromium Review Panel will provide advice through the
chartered SAB. The SAB and the SAB Hexavalent Chromium Review Panel
will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff
Office procedural policies.
The SAB Hexavalent Chromium Review Panel will conduct a review of
the draft EPA IRIS Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium. EPA's
draft assessment includes a hazard identification analysis, which
summarizes the chemical properties, toxicokinetics, and health effects
associated exposure, and dose-response analysis, which characterizes
the quantitative relationship between chemical exposure and each
credible health hazard. These quantitative relationships are then used
to derive cancer and non-cancer toxicity values (e.g., inhalation unit
risk, oral slope factor, reference concentration, reference dose). The
SAB Hexavalent Chromium Review Panel will consider whether the
conclusions found in the EPA's draft assessment are clearly presented
and scientifically supported. The Panel will also be asked to provide
recommendations on how the assessment may be strengthened.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Toxicology,
specifically inhalation toxicology/dosimetry, hepatic nephrological,
genetic toxicology; epidemiology; systematic review; physiologically-
based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling; carcinogenesis,
[[Page 21886]]
including gastrointestinal; risk assessment; and dose response
analysis.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas
of expertise described above for possible service on the SAB Panel.
Individuals may self-nominate. Nominations should be submitted in
electronic format (preferred) using the online nomination form on the
SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov (see the ``Public Input on
Membership'' list under ``Committees, Panels, and Membership''). To be
considered, nominations should include the information requested below.
EPA values and welcomes diversity. All qualified candidates are
encouraged to apply regardless of sex, race, disability, or ethnicity.
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than May 4,
2022. The following information should be provided on the nomination
form: Contact information for the person making the nomination; contact
information for the nominee; and the disciplinary and specific areas of
expertise of the nominee. Nominees will be contacted by the SAB Staff
Office and will be asked to provide a recent curriculum vitae and a
narrative biographical summary that includes: Current position,
educational background; research activities; sources of research
funding for the last two years; and recent service on other national
advisory committees or national professional organizations. Persons
having questions about the nomination procedures, or who are unable to
submit nominations through the SAB website, should contact the DFO at
the contact information noted above. The names and biosketches of
qualified nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register
notice, and additional experts identified by the SAB Staff Office, will
be posted in a List of Candidates for the Panel on the SAB website at
https://sab.epa.gov. Public comments on the List of Candidates will be
accepted for 21 days. The public will be requested to provide relevant
information or other documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff
Office should consider in evaluating candidates.
For the EPA SAB Staff Office a balanced review panel includes
candidates who possess the necessary domains of knowledge, the relevant
scientific perspectives (which, among other factors, can be influenced
by work history and affiliation), and the collective breadth of
experience to adequately address the charge. In forming the expert
panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the Lists
of Candidates, information provided by the candidates themselves, and
background information independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office.
Selection criteria to be used for panel membership include: (a)
Scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge, and experience
(primary factors); (b) availability and willingness to serve; (c)
absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an
appearance of a loss of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees,
subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f) for the panel as a whole,
diversity of expertise and scientific points of view.
The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial
conflicts of interest will include a review of the ``Confidential
Financial Disclosure Form for Environmental Protection Agency Special
Government Employees'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form is
required and allows government officials to determine whether there is
a statutory conflict between a person's public responsibilities (which
include membership on an EPA federal advisory committee) and private
interests and activities, or the appearance of a loss of impartiality,
as defined by federal regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded
through the ``Ethics Requirements for Advisors'' link on the SAB
website at https://sab.epa.gov. This form should not be submitted as
part of a nomination.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects members
for subcommittees and review panels is described in the following
document: Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental
Protection Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is
posted on the SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov.
Thomas Brennan,
Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-07943 Filed 4-12-22; 8:45 am]
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