[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 146 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38188-38190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18386]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8933-6; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0495]
Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water
Treatment and Topical Sunscreen
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft
document titled, ``Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium
Dioxide in Water Treatment and Topical Sunscreen'' (EPA/600/R-09/057).
The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental
Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development. The case
studies focus on two different applications of nanoscale titanium
dioxide, water treatment and topical sunscreen. The document is
intended to serve as a foundation for creating a long-term research
strategy to provide the information needed for comprehensive
environmental assessments of selected nanomaterials. It does not
attempt to draw conclusions regarding potential environmental risks
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of nanoscale titanium dioxide, but only to identify what is known and
what needs to be known to support future assessment efforts.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination. When finalizing the draft document, EPA
intends to consider any public comments that EPA receives in accordance
with this notice.
DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins July 31, 2009, and ends
September 14, 2009. Technical comments should be in writing and must be
received by EPA by September 14, 2009.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium
Dioxide in Water Treatment and Topical Sunscreen'' is available
primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental
Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and
Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of
paper copies are available from Deborah Wales, NCEA-RTP, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711; phone: (919) 541-4731; facsimile: (919) 541-
5078. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name,
your mailing address, and the document title, ``Nanomaterial Case
Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water Treatment and Topical
Sunscreen.''
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: (202) 566-1752; facsimile: (202) 566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For technical information, contact Dr. J. Michael Davis, NCEA;
telephone: (919) 541-4162; facsimile: (919) 685-3331; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
Engineered nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) are conventionally
defined as having at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers
(nm) and unique properties that arise from their small size. Like all
technological developments, nanomaterials offer the potential for both
benefits and risks. The assessment of such risks and benefits requires
information, but given the nascent state of nanotechnology, much
remains to be learned about the characteristics and effects of
nanomaterials before such assessments can be completed. The draft
document, ``Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in
Water Treatment and Topical Sunscreen,'' is a starting point to
identify what is known and, more importantly, what needs to be known
about selected nanomaterial applications--in this case, for nanoscale
titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2)--to assess their potential
ecological and health implications. The complex properties of various
nanomaterials make evaluating them in the abstract or with
generalizations difficult if not impossible. Thus, this document
focuses on two specific uses of nano-TiO2, as a drinking
water treatment and as topical sunscreen. These ``case studies'' do not
represent completed or even preliminary assessments; rather, they
present the structure for identifying and prioritizing research needed
to support future assessments. The case studies follow the
comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) approach, which combines a
product life-cycle framework with the risk assessment paradigm. In
essence, risk assessment relates exposure and effects information for a
given substance or stressor, and CEA expands on this paradigm by
including life-cycle stages and considering both indirect and direct
ramifications of a substance or stressor.
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2009-
0495, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: (202) 566-1753
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is (202)
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center's 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. Such deliveries are only accepted
during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed information. If you provide
comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit three copies of the
comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively
with the comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2009-0495. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a comment includes information 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 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 http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public 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. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
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whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: July 8, 2009.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E9-18386 Filed 7-30-09; 8:45 am]
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