[Federal Register: October 4, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 192)]
[Notices]
[Page 58601-58603]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04oc06-58]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122; FRL-8070-3]
Risk Management Practices for Nanoscale Materials; Notice of
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA is convening a public meeting on risk management practices
under a possible stewardship program for nanoscale materials under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is considering development of
a stewardship program for such nanoscale materials. This program is
being explored to encourage responsible commercial development of
nanoscale materials. The stewardship program will also enable EPA,
affected industry, and other stakeholders to build the capacity to
assess potential risks to human health and the environment from
nanoscale materials and to identify risk management practices available
to reduce such potential risks. EPA is requesting comments at the
public meeting on: Risk management practices currently used or
potentially available for use for nanoscale materials, the rationale
for the use of these practices and the effectiveness or efficiency of
these practices, and issues to consider for including risk management
practices for nanoscale materials in the stewardship program. These
comments will inform EPA on risk management practices to include in the
stewardship program.
DATES: The meeting will be held on October 19, 2006, from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m., and on October 20, 2006, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Comments must be received on or before 8 a.m., October 19, 2006.
Requests to present oral comments must be submitted to the
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT before
October 16, 2006. Time for oral comments may be limited, depending on
the number of requests received.
Requests to attend the meeting may be submitted electronically
through the Eastern Research Group (ERG) registration website at
https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/nano by October 16, 2006.
Advance requests will assist in planning adequate seating; however,
members of the public may attend without prior registration. Requests
for special accommodations may also be submitted through the ERG
registration website by October 16, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480
L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20024.
Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal. http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA
East, Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Attention:
Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone
number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are only accepted
during the DCO's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
2004-0122. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information
[[Page 58602]]
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
regulations.gov or e-mail. The regulations.gov website is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit
an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and
other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk
or CD ROM you submit. 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. Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information
is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available electronically at
http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the
OPPT Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC). The EPA/DC suffered structural
damage due to flooding in June 2006. Although the EPA/DC is continuing
operations, there will be temporary changes to the EPA/DC during the
clean-up. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room, which was temporarily closed
due to flooding, has been relocated in the EPA Headquarters Library,
Infoterra Room (Room Number 3334) in EPA West, located at 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room
is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading Room
is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is
(202) 566-0280. EPA visitors are required to show photographic
identification and sign the EPA visitor log. Visitors to the EPA/DC
Public Reading Room will be provided with an EPA/DC badge that must be
visible at all times while in the EPA Building and returned to the
guard upon departure. In addition, security personnel will escort
visitors to and from the new EPA/DC Public Reading Room location. Up-
to-date information about the EPA/DC is on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby
Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address:
TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.
For technical information contact: Scott Prothero, Economics,
Exposure and Technology Division (7406M), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number:
(202) 564-8514; e-mail address: prothero.scott@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
particular interest to those persons who manufacture, import, process,
or use nanoscale materials that are chemical substances subject to the
jurisdiction of TSCA. Potentially affected entities may include, but
are not limited to:
Chemical manufacturers (NAICS code 325), e.g., persons
manufacturing, importing, processing, or using chemicals for commercial
purposes.
Petroleum and coal product industries (NAICS code 324),
e.g., persons manufacturing, importing, processing, or using chemicals
for commercial purposes.
Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not
attempted to describe all the specific entities that may have an
interest in this matter. If you have any questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI to EPA through regulations.gov
or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you
claim to be CBI. For CBI information on a disk or CD ROM that you mail
to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
Nanoscale materials are chemical substances containing structures
in the length scale of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers, and may have
different molecular organizations and properties than the same chemical
substances in a larger size.
EPA is considering a stewardship program pertaining to these
nanoscale materials. (See the Federal Register of May 10, 2005 (70 FR
24574-24576) (FRL-7700-7.) Information derived from the stewardship
program would allow EPA and the affected industry to better understand
the issues with respect to potential risks and for EPA to gain
experience in the evaluation of such types of chemical substances.
EPA has received input from the National Pollution Prevention and
Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC) regarding the intended outcomes of a
voluntary program in the form of an Overview Document (Ref.1). The
[[Page 58603]]
Overview Document indicates that the program should:
1. Give EPA and the public a better understanding of the types of
nanoscale materials produced in the United States. Characteristics of
these materials that should be identified include: Physical, chemical,
hazard and exposure characteristics; production volume; and the uses of
the materials.
2. Help EPA develop a capacity and process for identifying and
assessing risks of engineered nanoscale materials.
3. Help EPA determine what information it needs about engineered
nanoscale materials and articulate those information needs to industry
and other stakeholder groups.
4. Help EPA understand what risk management practices are being
employed during production, processing, use and disposal stages, and
what additional risk management practices should be considered for
implementation.
5. Prompt or reinforce the implementation of risk management
practices.
6. Provide the information and experience needed to develop an
overall approach to the treatment of nanoscale chemical substances
under TSCA that builds public trust in nanoscale materials while
enabling innovation and responsible development. The Overview Document
indicated that participants in the program should implement basic risk
management practices or other environmental or occupational health
protection controls (e.g., worker training, hazard communication
(including Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)), use of available
engineering controls, provision of personal protective equipment,
product labeling, customer training, waste management practices, etc.).
The Overview Document also suggested that, in developing the program,
EPA should hold one or more public peer consultation meetings. Among
other issues, the meeting(s) would address risk management practices to
be included in a basic program and in an in-depth program, each offered
under the overall program (Ref. 1).
EPA is holding this public meeting to assist in elaborating
possible risk management practices for the stewardship program. The
public meeting will involve panel discussions of EPA's discussion paper
on possible risk management practices for the basic program, with time
allotted for public comment. EPA will place in the public docket and
the ERG registration website the discussion paper on possible risk
management practices for nanoscale materials as well as an agenda for
the meeting.
III. Issues for EPA and Stakeholders
EPA is requesting comments on the following risk management
practices for nanoscale materials:
1. Worker training, including work practices.
2. Hazard communication.
3. Engineering controls.
4. Personal protective equipment.
5. Product labeling.
6. Customer training.
7. Waste management and environmental release management.
Comments in these specific areas will be particularly helpful:
Risk management practices currently used for nanoscale
materials.
Risk management practices that could potentially be used
for nanoscale materials.
Rationale for the use of these practices and the
effectiveness or efficiency of these practices.
Issues to consider for determining risk management
practices for nanoscale materials to include in the basic program.
Comments on EPA's proposed risk management practices for
nanoscale materials in the basic program.
EPA is also requesting comments on:
1. Other risk management practices for nanoscale materials that
should be considered.
2. Consideration for possible additional risk management practices
for nanoscale materials in the in-depth program.
IV. References
The following references have been placed in the public docket that
was established under docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122 for this
action as indicated under ADDRESSES.
1. NPPTAC. November 22, 2005. Overview of Issues for Consideration
by NPPTAC.
2. Discussion paper for public meeting on risk management practices
for nanoscale materials.
3. Agenda for public meeting on risk management practices for
nanoscale materials.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances,
Nanoscale materials.
Dated: September 22, 2006.
Charles M. Auer,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. E6-16385 Filed 10-3-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S