[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 155 (Friday, August 12, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47199-47200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16038]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7951-7]
Notice of a Scientific Peer Review Meeting to Review the
Document: The Inventory of Sources and Environmental Releases of
Dioxin-Like Compounds in the U.S.: the Year 2000 Update, March, 2005
(EPA/600/P/03/002a)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of external peer-review panel meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
that ERG, an EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will
convene a panel of experts and organize and conduct an independent
external peer-review workshop to review the draft report, ``The
Inventory of Sources and Environmental Releases of Dioxin-Like
[[Page 47200]]
Compounds in the U.S.: the Year 2000 Update,'' March, 2005 (EPA/600/P/
03/002a) (Draft Dioxin Inventory Update). The public is invited to
register to attend this meeting as an observer. In addition, the public
is invited to give oral and/or provide written comments at the meeting
regarding the draft document under review.
DATES: The peer-review panel meeting will occur from September 13,
2005, to September 15, 2005. Each day the meeting is scheduled to begin
at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., eastern daylight time. The public may
attend the peer-review panel meeting as observers. In addition, members
of the public in attendance at the meeting will be allowed to make
brief (no longer than five minutes) oral statements at the commencement
of the meeting.
ADDRESSES: The external peer-review panel meeting will be held at the
Hilton Crystal City hotel, located at 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway in
Arlington, Virginia. The EPA contractor, ERG, is organizing, convening,
and conducting the peer-review panel meeting. To attend the meeting,
register by September 7, 2005, by calling ERG, 110 Hartwell Avenue,
Lexington, MA, at 781-674-7374 or by sending a facsimile to 781-674-
2851. Interested parties may also register on-line at: https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/dioxin/register-dioxin.htm. Space
is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-
served basis. At the time of your registration for the meeting, please
indicate if you intend to make an oral statement at the meeting.
The Draft Dioxin Inventory Update is available primarily via the
Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's (NCEA)
home page at http://www.epa.gov/ncea under the Recent Additions (See
May 6, 2005 entry) and Data and Publications menus.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding registration and
logistics for the peer review meeting should be directed to Katherine
Moore, ERG, 110 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421; telephone: 781-
674-7374; facsimile: 781-674-2851; e-mail: [email protected].
If you have questions about the document, contact David Cleverly,
National Center for Environmental Assessment, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW. (8601 D), Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 202-564-3238; facsimile:
202-565-2018; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 6, 2005, a Federal Register notice
was published that announced a 60-day public comment period for EPA's
Draft Dioxin Inventory Update (70 FR 24039). On May 6 this draft
document, prepared by NCEA within EPA's Office of Research and
Development, was also made publicly available on NCEA's Web site for
review and comment. The 60-day public comment period closed on July 5.
In the May 6 notice, EPA also announced that a subsequent Federal
Register notice would announce the date and location of a meeting for
independent external peer review of this draft document. Today's notice
provides information on that peer review meeting.
The purpose of this report is to present an inventory of sources
and environmental releases of dioxin-like compounds in the United
States. This inventory is associated with three distinct reference
years: 1987, 1995, and 2000. The presentation of information in this
manner permits the ranking of sources by magnitude of annual release
and allows for the evaluation of environmental trends over time. The
term dioxin-like includes congeners of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-
dioxins (CDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) having chlorine
atoms in the 2,3,7,8 positions on the molecule, and certain coplanar-
substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Dioxin-like refers to the
fact that these compounds have similar chemical structure and physical-
chemical properties and invoke a common battery of toxic response.
Because of their hydrophobic nature and resistance towards metabolism,
these chemicals persist and bioaccumulate in fatty tissues of animals
and humans. Consequently, the principal route of chronic population
exposure is through the dietary consumption of animal fats, fish,
shellfish, and dairy products. Dioxin-like compounds are persistent in
soils and sediments, with environmental half-lives ranging from years
to several decades. Understanding the sources and environmental
releases of dioxin-like compounds is fundamental to ultimately linking
sources with population exposures. It is through such understanding
that actions can be taken to reduce human exposures.
This current inventory is an update of an external review draft
report entitled, The Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in the United
States (EPA/600/P-98/002Aa), dated April 1998. The 1998 draft inventory
presented annual estimates of environmental releases for reference
years 1987 and 1995. The current inventory represents an update with
the inclusion of a third reference year, 2000.
This updated inventory of sources and environmental releases of
dioxin-like compounds concludes that, between 1987 and 2000, there was
an approximately 89% reduction in the release of dioxin-like compounds
to the circulating environment of the United States from all known
sources combined. Annual emission estimates (TEQDF-
WHO98) of releases of CDDs/CDFs to air, water, and land from
reasonably quantifiable sources were approximately 1,529 grams in
reference year 2000; 3,280 grams in reference year 1995; and 13,962
grams in reference year 1987. In 1987 and 1995, the leading sources of
dioxin emissions to the U.S. environment were municipal waste
combustors. The inventory concludes that the major source of dioxin in
2000 was the uncontrolled burning of refuse in backyard burn barrels in
rural areas of the United States. The inventory also identifies
bleached chlorine pulp and paper mills as a significant source of
dioxin to the aquatic environment in 1987 but a minor source in 1995
and 2000.
The reduction in environmental releases of dioxin-like compounds
from 1987 to 2000 is attributable to source-specific regulations,
improvements in source technology, advancements in the pollution
control technologies specific to controlling dioxin discharges and
releases, and the voluntary actions of U.S. industries to reduce or
prevent dioxin releases.
Dated: August 8, 2005.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 05-16038 Filed 8-11-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U