[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33615-33616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14239]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9162-4; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0395]
Draft EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity
and Response to NAS Comments (EPA/600/R-10/038A)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Listening Session.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a listening session to be held on July 9,
2010, during the public comment period for the external review draft
document entitled ``EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin
Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments'' (EPA/600/R-10/038A). The EPA's
draft document and peer review charge are available via the Internet on
the National Center for Environmental Assessment's (NCEA) home page
under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. This draft document responds to the key
recommendations and comments included in the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) 2006 report. In addition, it includes new analyses on
potential human effects that may result from exposure to 2,3,7,8-
tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).
The release of the draft document for public comment was announced
in a May 21, 2010, Federal Register Notice (75 FR 28610). EPA also
announced that it intends to forward all public comments submitted
before July 7, 2010, in response to the May 21, 2010, Notice, to the
EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) peer review panel for its
consideration and provided instructions for submitting comments.
The draft document is also being provided to the SAB, a body
established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, for independent
external peer review. The SAB is convening an expert panel composed of
scientists knowledgeable about technical issues related to dioxins and
risk assessment. The SAB is holding a public teleconference on June 24,
2010, and a public panel meeting on July 13-15, 2010. The SAB peer
review meetings were announced by the SAB staff office in a separate
May 24, 2010, Federal Register Notice (75 FR 28805). Members of the
public who wish to ensure that their technical comments are provided to
the SAB expert panel before each meeting should also e-mail their
comments separately to Thomas Armitage, the SAB Designated Federal
Officer at [email protected], following the procedures in the May
24, 2010, Federal Register Notice announcing the SAB public meetings.
The public comment period and SAB external peer review are independent
processes that provide separate opportunities for all interested
parties to comment on the draft report.
The purpose of the listening session is to allow all interested
parties to present scientific and technical comments on draft IRIS
health assessments to EPA and other interested parties during the
public comment period and before the external peer review meeting. EPA
welcomes the scientific and technical comments that will be provided to
the Agency by the listening session participants. All comments
submitted according to the detailed instructions provided in the May
21, 2010, Federal Register Notice under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION will
be considered by the Agency as it revises the draft assessment in
response to the independent external peer review and public comments.
All presentations will become part of the official public record.
DATES: The listening session on the draft IRIS health assessment for
dioxin will be held on July 9, 2010, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at
4 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. If you would like to make a presentation
at the listening session, you should register by July 2, 2010, indicate
that you wish to make oral comments at the session, and indicate the
length of your presentation. When you register, please indicate if you
will need audio-visual equipment (e.g., laptop computer and slide
projector). In general, each presentation should be no more than 30
minutes. If, however, there are more requests for presentations than
the allotted time allows, then the time limit for each presentation
will be adjusted. A copy of the agenda for the listening session will
be available at the meeting. If no speakers have registered by July 2,
2010, the listening session will be cancelled and EPA will notify those
registered of the cancellation.
The public comment period for review of this draft assessment was
announced previously in the Federal Register (75 FR 28610) on May 21,
1010. As stated in that Federal Register Notice, the public comment
period began on May 21, 2010, and ends August 19, 2010. Any technical
comments submitted during the public comment period should be in
writing and must be received by EPA by August 19, 2010, according to
the procedures outlined in the May 21, 2010, Federal Register Notice.
Only those public comments submitted by July 7, 2010, or e-mailed
separately to Thomas Armitage, the SAB Designated Federal Officer at
[email protected], following the procedures in the May 24, 2010,
Federal Register Notice announcing the SAB public meetings, will be
provided to the independent peer-review panel prior to the peer-review
meeting. However, all comments received during the public comment
period will be provided to the SAB peer review committee and will also
inform the Agency's revision of the draft assessment.
ADDRESSES: The listening session on the draft dioxin assessment will be
held at the EPA offices at Two Potomac Yard South Building, 4th Floor,
S-4370-80, 2733 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. To
attend the listening session, register by July 2, 2010. To present at
the listening session, indicate in your registration that you want to
make oral comments at the session and provide the length of your
presentation. To register, send an e-mail to:
[email protected] (subject line: Dioxin Listening Session);
call Christine Ross at 703-347-8592; or fax a registration request to
703-347-8689 (please reference the ``Dioxin Listening Session'' and
include your name, title, affiliation, full address and contact
information). Please note that to gain entrance to this EPA building to
attend the meeting, attendees must have photo identification with them
and must register at the guard's desk in the lobby. The guard will
retain your photo identification and will provide you with a visitor's
badge. At the guard's desk, attendees should give the name Christine
Ross and the telephone number 703-347-8592 to the guard on duty. The
guard will contact Ms. Ross who will meet you in the reception area to
escort you to the meeting room. When you leave the building, please
return your visitor's badge to the guard and you will receive your
photo identification.
A teleconference line will also be available for registered
attendees/speakers. The teleconference number is 866-299-3188, and the
access code is 926-378-7897, followed by the pound sign ().
The teleconference line will be activated at 8:45 a.m., and you will be
asked to identify yourself and your affiliation at the beginning of the
call.
[[Page 33616]]
Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA
welcomes public attendance at the ``Dioxin Listening Session'' and will
make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities. For
information on access or services for individuals with disabilities,
please contact Christine Ross at 703-347-8592 or
[email protected]. To request accommodation of a disability,
please contact Ms. Ross, preferably at least 10 days prior to the
meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public
listening sessions, please contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National
Center for Environmental Assessment, (8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-
8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected].
For questions about the draft dioxin assessment, contact Glenn Rice,
National Center for Environmental Assessment, A110, U.S. EPA, 26 West
Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone: 513-569-
7813; facsimile: 513-487-2539 or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA's IRIS is a human health assessment
program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on
effects that may result from exposure to chemical substances found in
the environment. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest
quality science-based human health assessments to support the Agency's
regulatory activities. The IRIS database contains information for more
than 540 chemical substances that can be used to support the first two
steps (hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk
assessment process. When supported by available data, IRIS provides
oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference concentrations
(RfCs) for chronic noncancer health effects and cancer assessments.
Combined with specific exposure information, government and private
entities use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical
substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support risk
management decisions designed to protect public health.
Dated: June 8, 2010.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-14239 Filed 6-11-10; 8:45 am]
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