[Federal Register: September 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 183)]
[Notices]
[Page 55051-55053]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22se03-56]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7562-4; OAR-2003-0192]
Papers Addressing Scientific Issues in the Risk Assessment of
Metals
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Availability and Public Comment Period.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a
public comment period ending
[[Page 55052]]
November 7, 2003 for the draft documents titled: Issue Paper on the
Environmental Chemistry of Metals; Issue Paper on Metal Exposure
Assessment; Issue Paper on the Ecological Effects of Metals; Issue
Paper on the Human Health Effects of Metals; and Issue Paper on the
Bioavailability and Bioaccumulation of Metals. These draft papers are
being made available for public comment consistent with EPA's
commitment to provide opportunities for external input. Scientific
comments received on these papers will be made available to authors for
final disposition. The material contained in these papers may be used
in total, or in part, as source material for the Agency's framework for
metals risk assessment and EPA's evaluation of this material will
therefore include consideration of the Assessment Factors recently
published by EPA for use in evaluating the quality of scientific and
technical information. In addition to written comments, a public
meeting will be held during the public comment period for stakeholders
to provide additional input to EPA. Meeting logistics, to include
registration information, will be announced in a subsequent Federal
Register Notice. The meeting will be held in the Washington D.C. area.
DATES: The public comment period begins September 22, 2003, and ends
November 7, 2003. Technical comments should be in writing and must be
postmarked by November 7, 2003.
ADDRESSES: The draft issue papers are available primarily via the
Internet on the Risk Assessment Forum's web page at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recordisplay.cfm?deid=59052.
A limited number of
paper copies are available from EDOCKET. The EPA Office of
Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Docket I.D. No. OAR-2003-0192);
telephone: (202) 566-1742; facsimile: (202) 566-1741; e-mail: a-and-r-
Docket@epa.gov. Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, by
facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed
instructions as provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: (202) 566-1742; facsimile: (202) 566-1741; e-mail: a-and-r-
Docket@epa.gov. For technical information, contact Dr. William P. Wood, Executive
Director, Risk Assessment Forum, National Center for Environmental
Assessment, Office of Research and Development; telephone: (202) 564-
3361; facsimile: (202) 565-0062; or e-mail: risk.forum@epa.gov@epa.govrisk.forum@epa.gov@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has established an official public
docket for this action under Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0192. The official
public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this
action, any public comments received, and other information related to
this action. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket
does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official
public docket is the collection of materials that is available for
public viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
in the Headquarters EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West Building, Room
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 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, and the telephone number for the
OEI Docket is (202) 566-1742.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that
are available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,''
then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets.
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic
public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be
placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in
printed, paper form in the official public docket.
For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper,
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the Docket will
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief
description written by the docket staff.
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or
by hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the
appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the
first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are
submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after
the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' Late comments
may be considered if time permits.
If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed below, EPA
recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail
address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also
include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM
you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM.
This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment
and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due
to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance
of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment,
and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a
comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the
official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public
docket. 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.
Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go
directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and follow the
online instructions for submitting comments. To access EPA's electronic
public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page, select ``Information
Sources,''
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``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select
``search,'' and then key in Docket ID Number. The system is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to a-and-r-
Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2003-0192. In contrast to
EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to
the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's
e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail
addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the
OEI Docket mailing address. These electronic submissions will be
accepted in WordPerfect, Word, or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of
special characters and any form of encryption.
If you provide comments in writing, please submit one unbound
original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of the
comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively
with the comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
Background
Many EPA programs are faced with deciding whether and how to
regulate metals. These decisions range from site-specific assessments
performed to determine, for example, whether a site needs remediation
and, if so, to what degree; to national-scale assessments where, for
example, national air and water quality standards are being developed;
to national hazard or risk ranking conducted for purposes of setting
priorities for future analysis, action, or information gathering. In
recognition of the unique assessment issues raised by metals and the
complexity of addressing these issues consistently across the Agency's
various programs, an Agency workgroup, under the auspices of the
Science Policy Council, is working to develop an integrated framework
for metals risk assessment that will (1) foster consistent application
of scientific principles for assessing the hazard and risk for metals,
(2) reflect state-of-the-science application of methods and data, (3)
incorporate a transparent process (i.e. articulating assumptions and
uncertainties), and (4) provide the flexibility to address program-
specific issues. Issues discussed in these papers are focused on the
inorganic species of metals and metal compounds.
Role of the Issue Papers
In September 2002, EPA discussed plans for the development of the
metals assessment framework and associated guidance with the Agency's
Science Advisory Board (SAB). That discussion included the context and
key issues the Agency believed should be addressed in a metals
assessment guidance and also identified the anticipated process for
development of such guidance. In their review, the SAB expanded and
condensed key technical areas into those represented by the five issue
papers identified above. The SAB also emphasized the importance of
engaging the outside community so as to contribute to the knowledge
base the Agency would draw from in developing the subsequent guidance.
As part of the effort to engage stakeholders and the scientific
community and to build on existing experience, the Agency has
commissioned external experts to lead the development of scientific
papers on issues and state-of-the-art approaches to metals risk
assessment. (Some individual EPA experts contributed specific
discussions on topic(s) for which he or she has scientific expertise or
knowledge of current Agency practice). Although Agency technical staff,
as well as representatives from other Federal agencies reviewed and
commented on previous drafts, the comments were addressed at the
discretion of each respective author or group of authors. Therefore,
the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views or policies of the EPA and should not be construed as
implying EPA consent or endorsement. Comments of a technical nature
received during the public comment period will be provided to Eastern
Research Group for disposition by the authors.
Organizing Questions
For the purpose of organizing comments on the issue papers, the
Agency suggests that commenters address the following questions:
1. For the purpose of deriving general principles that can be
applied in the assessment of metals, do the issue papers provide an
appropriate level of detail?
2. Are there additional chemical, biological and physical processes
that should be considered for metals assessment? If so, please describe
and provide references.
3. Are you aware of any models, approaches or methods not
considered in the reports that if implemented, would substantially
reduce uncertainty in the Agency's metal assessments? If so, which ones
are ready for application now (or in the next few years), and which
types of assessments would benefit most from their application (e.g.,
hazard ranking/characterization, national, or site-specific
assessments)?
4. What other suggestions do you have to improve the utility of
these papers as the Agency develops a metals assessment framework?
Dated: September 12, 2003.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 03-24006 Filed 9-18-03; 12:01 pm]
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