[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14648-14649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04131]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0613; FRL-11608-02-OCSPP]


Formaldehyde; Draft Risk Evaluation Peer Review by the Science 
Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC); Request for Comments on Experts 
Being Considered for Participation as Ad Hoc Peer Reviewers

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of and soliciting public comments on the list of 
candidates under consideration for selection as ad hoc peer reviewers 
assisting the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) with their 
peer review of the Agency's evaluation of the risks from formaldehyde 
being conducted to inform risk management decisions under the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA). The list of candidates provides the 
names and biographical sketches of all interested and available 
candidates identified from the responses to the call for nominations 
and other sources. Public comments on these candidates will be used to 
assist the Agency in selecting approximately 10-15 ad hoc peer 
reviewers to assist the SACC with the identified peer review.

DATES: Submit your comments on or before March 14, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by docket identification (ID) 
number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0613, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Additional 
instructions on commenting and visiting the docket, along with more 
information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Designated Federal Official (DFO) 
is Tamue Gibson, Mission Support Division (7602M), Office of Program 
Support, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, 
Environmental Protection Agency; telephone number: (202) 564-7642; 
email address: [email protected]; or call the SACC main office at 
(202) 564-8450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. What action is the Agency taking?

    The Agency is seeking public comments on scientific and technical 
experts that EPA is considering for service as ad hoc peer reviewers 
assisting the SACC with the peer review of the Agency's evaluation of 
the risks from formaldehyde being conducted to inform risk management 
decisions under TSCA. The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 
(OPPT) collaborated with the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to 
develop hazard assessments for human and ecological health. EPA expects 
to ask the SACC to consider and review these joint hazard assessments 
in addition to the OPPT exposure and risk characterizations. This SACC 
peer review is in addition to prior external peer reviews by the 
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the 
EPA's Human Studies Review Board (HSRB) and SACC peer reviews of 
related scientific issues. The Agency is leveraging these peer reviews 
to support further development of the risk evaluation of formaldehyde. 
For additional information, please see the Agency's request for 
nominations of ad hoc expert reviewers that appeared in the Federal 
Register of December 26, 2023 (88 FR 88910 (FRL-11608-01-OCSPP)).

B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    EPA established the SACC in 2016 in accordance with TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 
2625(o), to provide independent advice and expert consultation with 
respect to the scientific and technical aspects of issues relating to 
the implementation of TSCA. The SACC operates in accordance with the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. 10, and supports 
activities under TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., the Pollution Prevention 
Act (PPA), 42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq., and other applicable statutes.

C. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general and may be of 
particular interest to those involved in the manufacture, processing, 
distribution, and disposal of the subject chemical substance, and/or 
those interested in the assessment of risks involving chemical 
substances and mixtures regulated under TSCA.

[[Page 14649]]

D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    Do not electronically submit any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Copyrighted material will not be 
posted without explicit permission of the copyright holder. Members of 
the public should also be aware that personal contact information, if 
included in any written comments, may be posted on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov. If your comment contains any information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the 
DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting that information.

E. How can I stay informed about SACC activities?

    You may subscribe to the following listserv for alerts regarding 
this and other SACC-related activities: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOPPT/subscriber/new?topic_id=USAEPAOPPT_101.

II. Background

    EPA is planning this SACC peer review of the Agency's evaluation of 
the risks from formaldehyde being conducted to inform risk management 
decisions under TSCA. OPPT collaborated with OPP to develop hazard 
assessments for human and ecological health. EPA expects to ask the 
SACC to consider and review these joint hazard assessments in addition 
to the OPPT exposure and risk characterizations. This SACC peer review 
is in addition to prior external peer reviews by the National Academies 
of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the EPA's Human Studies 
Review Board (HSRB) and SACC peer reviews of related scientific issues. 
The Agency is leveraging these peer reviews to support further 
development of the risk evaluation of formaldehyde. The TSCA risk 
evaluation of formaldehyde is expected to comprise several modules 
(i.e., human health hazard, ecological hazard, release and exposure 
assessments) and two risk assessment documents--the ecological risk 
assessment and the human health risk assessment. As part of the TSCA 
risk evaluation for formaldehyde, OPPT is assessing formaldehyde 
conditions of use (COUs; e.g., composite wood products, plastics, 
rubber, toys, and various adhesives and sealants).
    Recommendations from the formaldehyde SACC review will be 
considered in the development of the TSCA risk evaluation and may 
inform other EPA efforts related to the assessment and regulation of 
formaldehyde. The Agency will be seeking SACC review of its data 
analyses and methodologies relevant to human health hazard and exposure 
analyses that have not been previously peer reviewed. For additional 
information, please see the Federal Register notice of December 26, 
2023 (88 FR 88910).

III. Request for Comments on the Candidates List

A. Will ad hoc reviewers be subjected to an ethics review?

    EPA is currently seeking public comments on all interested and 
available candidates, without prescreening for ethics concerns. 
However, SACC members and ad hoc peer reviewers are subject to the 
provisions of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the 
Executive Branch at 5 CFR part 2635, conflict of interest statutes in 
title 18 of the United States Code and related regulations. In 
anticipation of this requirement, prospective candidates for service on 
the SACC will be asked to submit confidential financial information 
which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the 
candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources 
of research support. EPA will evaluate the candidates' financial 
disclosure forms to assess whether there are financial conflicts of 
interest, appearance of a loss of impartiality, or any prior 
involvement with the development of the documents under consideration 
(including previous scientific peer review) before the candidate is 
considered further for service on the SACC.

B. How will EPA select the ad hoc reviewers?

    The selection of scientists to serve as ad hoc peer reviewers for 
the SACC is based on the function of the Committee and the expertise 
needed to address the Agency's charge to the Committee. No interested 
scientists shall be ineligible to serve by reason of their membership 
on any other advisory committee to a federal department or agency or 
their employment by a federal department or agency, except EPA. Other 
factors considered during the selection process include availability of 
the prospective candidate to fully participate in the Committee's 
reviews, absence of any conflicts of interest or appearance of loss of 
impartiality, independence with respect to the matters under review, 
and lack of bias. Although financial conflicts of interest, the 
appearance of loss of impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may 
result in non-selection, the absence of such concerns does not assure 
that a candidate will be selected to serve on the SACC.
    Numerous qualified candidates are often identified for SACC 
reviews. Therefore, selection decisions involve carefully weighing a 
number of factors including the candidates' areas of expertise and 
professional qualifications, and achieving an overall balance of 
different scientific perspectives across reviewers.
    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2625(o); 5 U.S.C 10.

    Dated: February 23, 2024.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-04131 Filed 2-27-24; 8:45 am]
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