[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 263-264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-24256]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2025-3624; FRL-13130-01-OCSPP]


Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC); Request for 
Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) 
invites the public to nominate scientific experts that EPA can consider 
for appointment to the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC), 
established pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The 
SACC provides independent advice and recommendations to the EPA on the 
scientific aspects of risk evaluations, methodologies, and approaches 
for chemicals regulated under TSCA. EPA anticipates appointing new SACC 
members by mid-2026 due to expiring membership terms. The SACC provides 
expertise on scientific aspects of risk evaluations, methodologies, and 
approaches for chemicals regulated under TSCA. Any interested person or 
organization may nominate qualified individuals to be considered 
prospective candidates for the committee by following the instructions 
provided in this document. Individuals may also self-nominate.

DATES: Nominations of candidates to be considered for appointment to 
the SACC must be received on or before February 4, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Submit your nomination identified by the docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2025-3624, to the Designated 
Federal Officer (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Do 
not electronically submit any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
public disclosure is restricted by statute. If your nomination may 
contain any such information, please contact the DFO to obtain special 
instructions before submitting that information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamue Gibson, DFO and Executive 
Secretary for the SACC, Regulatory & Information Services Division 
(7602M), Office of Mission Critical Operations, Office of Chemical 
Safety and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency; 
telephone number: (202) 564-5336 or call the SACC main office at (202) 
564-8450; email address:[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the general public. This action may also 
be of interest to those involved in the manufacture, processing, 
distribution, and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures, and/or 
those interested in the assessment of risks involving chemical 
substances and mixtures. Since other entities may also be interested, 
the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that 
may be affected by this action.
    If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my nominations for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI or other sensitive information 
to EPA through email. If your nomination 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 your nomination. Information properly 
marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with the 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Request for nominations. As part of a broader process for 
developing a pool of candidates for the SACC membership, the EPA 
Science Advisory Committee Branch (SACB) staff solicits the public 
stakeholder communities for nominations of prospective candidates. 
Sources such as list serv and website announcements in addition to this 
notice will be utilized to solicit nominations and identify candidates. 
Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified 
individuals to be considered as prospective candidates. Individuals 
also may self-nominate.

II. Background

    The SACC is a federal advisory committee, established in December 
2016 pursuant to TSCA section 2525(o), and chartered under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. 1001-1014. EPA established the 
SACC to provide independent advice and recommendations to the EPA 
Administrator on the scientific aspects of risk evaluations, 
methodologies, and approaches for chemicals regulated under TSCA. The 
SACC members serve as Special Government Employees (SGEs) or Regular 
Government Employees (RGEs). The SACC expects to meet approximately 4 
to 6 times per year, or as needed and approved by the DFO. Currently, 
there are 19 SACC members with ten membership terms that will expire 
over the next year.

III. Nominations

    Nominations should include candidates who have demonstrated high 
levels of competence, knowledge, and expertise in scientific/technical 
fields relevant to chemical safety and risk assessment. In particular, 
nominees should include specific expertise and perspectives 
representing the sectors of science, government, labor, public health, 
public interest, animal protection, industry, and other groups,

[[Page 264]]

including representatives that have specific scientific expertise in 
the relationship of chemical exposures to women, children, and other 
potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations. Nominees should 
demonstrate expertise from the following disciplines, including, but 
not limited to: human health and ecological risk assessment, 
biostatistics, epidemiology, pediatrics, physiologically-based 
pharmacokinetics (PBPK), toxicology and pathology (including 
neurotoxicology, developmental/reproductive toxicology, environmental 
toxicology, computational toxicology and carcinogenesis), cancer hazard 
and risk assessment, aggregate exposure, exposure assessment, 
bioinformatics/statics, inhalation exposure, inhalation toxicology, 
occupational exposure/industrial hygiene, and the relationship of 
chemical exposures to women, children, and other potentially exposed or 
susceptible subpopulations.
    Each nomination should include the following information:
     Current contact information for the person making the 
nomination;
     Name, affiliation, and contact information for the 
nominee;
     The disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the 
nominee; and
     Any additional information indicating current position; 
educational background; research activities; and recent service on 
other federal advisory committees and national or international 
professional organization.
    Persons having questions about the nomination process should 
contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The DFO will acknowledge receipt of nominations. The names and 
biographical sketches of all nominees identified by respondents to this 
Federal Register notice, other sources for nominations, and any 
additional candidates identified by EPA Staff, will be posted in a List 
of Candidates in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov and will be 
available through the SACC website at http://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review. The availability of the list also will be announced through the 
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention's listservs. You may 
subscribe to these listservs at the following website: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOPPT/subscriber/new?topic_id=USAEPAOPPT_101. Public comments on the List of Candidates 
will be requested to provide relevant information or other 
documentation on nominees that the EPA should consider in evaluating 
candidates. The final list of selected candidates to the SACC (names, 
professional affiliations) will be posted on the SACC website and 
announced through the OCSPP's listservs.

IV. Selection Criteria

    In addition to scientific expertise, in selecting members, EPA will 
consider the breadth and balance of different perspectives and the 
collective experience needed to address EPA's prospective charges to 
the SACC, including the following:
     Background and experiences that would contribute to the 
diversity of scientific viewpoints on the committee, including 
professional experiences in government, labor, public health, public 
interest, animal protection, industry, and other groups, as the EPA 
Administrator determines to be advisable (e.g., geographical location, 
professional affiliations, etc.);
     Skills and experience working on committees and advisory 
panels including demonstrated ability to work constructively and 
effectively in a committee setting;
     Information on financial conflicts of interest or the 
appearance of a loss of impartiality. Prospective candidates 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 candidate's financial disclosure forms to assess 
the possibility of financial conflicts of interest, appearance of a 
loss of impartially, or any prior involvement with the development of 
documents likely to be under consideration by the SACC (including 
previous scientific peer reviews) before the candidate is considered 
further;
     Willingness to commit adequate time for the thorough 
review of materials provided to the committee; and
     Availability to participate in committee meetings.

(Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2625 et seq.; 5 U.S.C. 1001-1014.)

    Dated: December 30, 2025.
Nancy B. Beck,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and 
Pollution Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2025-24256 Filed 1-2-26; 8:45 am]
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