[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 210 (Monday, November 2, 2009)] [Notices] [Pages 56611-56612] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: E9-26335] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-8974-1; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0664] Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS); Announcement of Availability of Literature Searches for IRIS Assessments AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Announcement of availability of literature searches for IRIS assessments; request for information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of literature searches for three IRIS assessments that were or may be started in 2009 and requesting scientific information on health effects that may result from exposure to these chemical substances. The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is an EPA database that contains information on human health effects that may result from exposure to chemical substances in the environment. DATES: EPA will accept information related to the specific substances included herein as well as any other compounds being assessed by the IRIS Program. Please submit any information in accordance with the instructions provided below. ADDRESSES: Please submit relevant scientific information identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0664, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); by e-mail to [email protected]; mailed to Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; or by hand delivery or courier to EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. Information on a disk or CD- ROM should be formatted in Word or as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption, and may be mailed to the mailing address above. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the IRIS program, contact Dr. Abdel-Razak Kadry, IRIS Program Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment, (mail code: 8601D), Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (703) 347-8545, facsimile: (703) 347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected]. For general questions about access to IRIS, or the content of IRIS, please call the IRIS Hotline at (202) 566-1676 or send electronic mail inquiries to [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background IRIS is a database of human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemical substances found in the environment. (EPA notes that information in the IRIS database has no preclusive effect and does not predetermine the outcome of any rulemaking. When EPA uses such information to support a rulemaking, the scientific basis for, and the application of, that information are subject to comment.) IRIS currently provides information on health effects associated with more than 500 chemical substances. The database includes chemical-specific summaries of qualitative and quantitative health information in support of the first two steps of the risk assessment process, i.e., hazard identification and dose- response evaluation. Combined with specific situational exposure assessment information, the information in IRIS is an important source in evaluating potential public health risks from environmental contaminants. The IRIS Annual Agenda The 2008 IRIS agenda was announced in a Federal Register Notice (FRN) of December 21, 2007 (72 FR 72715), which can be found on the IRIS Web site at http://www.epa.gov/iris. With the December 21, 2007, IRIS agenda announcement, EPA started a new process to actively solicit information from the public at the beginning of assessment development. As literature searches are completed, the results will be posted on the IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris). The public is invited to review the literature search results and submit additional information to EPA. EPA posted literature searches for 11 chemicals and stated that the availability of additional literature searches would be announced in subsequent FRNs. Request for Public Involvement in IRIS Assessments EPA is soliciting public involvement in assessments on the IRIS agenda, including new assessments starting in 2009. While EPA conducts a thorough literature search for each chemical substance, there may be unpublished studies or other primary technical sources that are not available through the open literature. EPA would appreciate receiving scientific information from the public during the information gathering stage for the assessments listed in this notice or any other assessments on the IRIS agenda. Interested persons should provide scientific analyses, studies, and other pertinent scientific information. While EPA is primarily soliciting information on new assessments starting in 2009 and beyond, the public may submit information on any chemical substance at any time. This notice provides (1) a list of new IRIS assessments for which literature searches have recently become available; and (2) instructions to the public for submitting scientific information to EPA pertinent to the development of assessments. [[Page 56612]] EPA is announcing the availability of additional literature searches on the IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris). The public is invited to review the literature search results and submit additional information to EPA. Literature searches are now available for chromium VI (hexavalent chromium) (CAS 18540-29-9), ammonia (7664-41-7), and 10 alkylates--2-methylpentane (107-83-5), 2-methylbutane (78-78-4), 3- methylpentane (96-14-0), 2,2,5-trimethylhexane (3522-94-9), 2,3,3- trimethylpentane (560-21-4), 2,3,5-trimethylpentane (565-75-3), cyclohexane (110-82-7), methylcyclohexane (108-87-2), n-heptane (142- 82-5), and n-octane (111-65-9) at http://www.epa.gov/iris under ``Annual IRIS Agenda.'' Literature search results were provided on December 21, 2007, and April 25, 2008, at http://www.epa.gov/iris for tert-amyl methyl ether, biphenyl, n-butanol, tert-butanol, carbonyl sulfide, diethyl phthalate, diisopropyl ether, hexabromocyclodecane, manganese, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, tungsten, urea, and weathered toxaphene. Additional literature searches will be posted as they are completed. Availability will be announced in the Federal Register. Instructions on how to submit information are provided below under General Information. General Information Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007- 0664 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, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 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 information by mail or hand delivery, 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 main text, and submit an unbound original and three copies. Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD- 2007-0664. 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: All 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 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 either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center. Dated: October 20, 2009. Rebecca Clark, Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment. [FR Doc. E9-26335 Filed 10-30-09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P