[Federal Register: October 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 198)]
[Notices]
[Page 60514]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13oc06-77]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8230-5]
A Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental Exposures
to Children
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of a final report titled,
``A Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental Exposures to
Children'' (EPA/600/R-05/093F), prepared by the National Center for
Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD).
DATES: This document will be available on or about October 13, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The document will be available electronically through the
NCEA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies
will be available from the EPA's National Service Center for
Environmental Publications (NSCEP), P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH
45242; telephone: 1-800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190; facsimile: 513-489-
8695. Please provide your name, your mailing address, the title and the
EPA number of the requested publication.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Technical Information Staff,
National Center for Environmental Assessment/Washington Office (8623D),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 202-564-3261; fax: 202-565-0050; e-
mail: nceadc.comment@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this report is to provide an
overarching framework for a complete and transparent assessment of
exposure of environmental agents to children and resulting potential
health risks within the U.S. EPA's risk assessment paradigm. This
Framework builds on the Agency's past experience in evaluating risk to
children. This Framework lays out a life stage-specific risk assessment
process, points to existing published sources for more detailed
information on life stage-specific considerations, and includes Web
links to specific online publications and relevant Agency science
policy papers, guidelines and guidance. This Framework emphasizes the
need for risk assessments to take into account potential exposures to
environmental agents during preconception and all stages of
development. This Framework is not intended to present an Agency
guideline, but rather describes the overall structure of and the
components considered important for children's health risk assessment.
The report describes an approach that includes problem formulation,
analysis, and risk characterization steps, and also builds on Agency
experience assessing risk to susceptible populations.
Problem Formulation--Focuses on the life stage-specific
nature of the analysis to include scoping and screening level questions
for hazard characterization, dose response and exposure assessment.
Analysis--Focuses on a life stage approach to evaluating
hazard, dose-response and exposure that is relevant to the scope of the
problem identified in problem formulation.
Risk Characterization--Recognizes the need to consider
life stage-specific risks and explicitly describes the uncertainties
and variability in the database.
It is important to note that within this framework, life stage-
specific data gaps are not meant to convey an obligatory change in how
uncertainty factor(s) associated with EPA's health risk assessment
methods should be judged in a given risk assessment, but rather to
consider how life stage-specific data can better characterize the risk
to susceptible groups within the population.
The peer review panel report, the public comments, and the response
to peer review and public comments will also be available at the same
time.
Dated: September 14, 2006.
George Alapas,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E6-16911 Filed 10-12-06; 8:45 am]
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