[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 45 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12178-12179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4339]
[[Page 12178]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[ATSDR-238]
Notice of the Revised Priority List of Hazardous Substances That
Will Be the Subject of Toxicological Profiles
AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund), as amended by the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), requires
that ATSDR and the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) prepare a
Priority List of Hazardous Substances commonly found at facilities on
the CERCLA National Priority List (NPL). The Priority List of Hazardous
Substances includes substances that have been determined to be of
greatest public health concern to persons at or near NPL sites. CERCLA
as amended also requires that ATSDR and EPA periodically revise the
Priority List of Hazardous Substances.
Pursuant to these CERCLA mandates, the agencies announce that based
on the most recent information available, they have developed and now
make available a revised CERCLA Priority List of 275 Hazardous
Substances. Because CERCLA as amended also requires ATSDR to prepare
and to periodically revise toxicological profiles on hazardous
substances included in the priority list, each priority list substance
is a potential toxicological profile subject, as well as a candidate
for identification of priority data needs.
In addition to the Priority List of Hazardous Substances, ATSDR has
developed a Completed Exposure Pathway Site Count Report. This report
lists the number of sites or events at which ATSDR is involved and
wherein a substance has been found in a completed exposure pathway
(CEP). This report is included in the Support Document of the Priority
List.
ADDRESSES: Requests for a printed copy of the 2007 CERCLA Priority List
of Hazardous Substances That Will Be The Subject of Toxicological
Profiles and Support Document, including the CEP report, should include
the docket control number ATSDR-238, and should be submitted to Ms.
Nickolette Roney, Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine,
ATSDR, Mail Stop F-32, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Atlanta, GA 30333.
Requests must be in writing.
Electronic Availability: The 2007 Priority List of Hazardous
Substances and Support Document will be posted on ATSDR's Web site
located at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/clist.html. The CEP Report will
also be posted at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cep.html. This is an
informational notice only; no comments are solicited at this time. Any
comments received will, however, be considered for inclusion in the
next revision of the list and placed in a publicly accessible docket.
Therefore, please do not include in comments any confidential business
information or any other confidential information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Division of Toxicology and
Environmental Medicine, ATSDR, 1600 Clifton Road NE., Mail Stop F-32,
Atlanta, GA 30333, telephone 800-232-4636.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CERCLA establishes certain requirements for
ATSDR and EPA with regard to hazardous substances most commonly found
at facilities on the CERCLA NPL. Section 104(i)(2)(A) of CERCLA, as
amended,\1\ requires that ATSDR and EPA prepare a list, in order of
priority, of at least 100 hazardous substances most commonly found at
facilities on the NPL and which, in the agencies' sole discretion, pose
the most significant potential threats to human health (see also 52 FR
12866, April 17, 1987). CERCLA section 104 (i)(2)(B) \2\ also requires
the agencies to revise the priority list to include 100 or more
additional hazardous substances (see also 53 FR 41280, October 20,
1988), and to include at least 25 additional hazardous substances in
each of the three successive years following the 1988 revision (see 54
FR 43619, October 26, 1989; 55 FR 42067, October 17, 1990; and 56 FR
52166, October 17, 1991).CERCLA section 104(i)(2)(B) further requires
ATSDR and EPA at least annually to revise the list to include any
additional hazardous substances that have been determined to pose the
most significant potential threat to human health.
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\1\ 42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(2)(A).
\2\ 42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(2)(B).
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In 1995, the agencies, recognizing the stability of this listing
activity, altered the priority list publication schedule (60 FR 16478,
March 30, 1995). As a result, the priority list is now on a 2-year
schedule, with annual informal review and revision. Each substance on
the CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances is also a potential
subject of an ATSDR-prepared toxicological profile and, subsequently, a
candidate for the identification of priority data needs.
The initial priority lists of hazardous substances (1987-1990) were
based on the most comprehensive and relevant information then
available. In 1991, with the development of ATSDR's HazDat database,
more comprehensive sources of information became available on the
frequency of occurrence and the potential for human exposure to
substances at NPL sites. Using this updated database, in 1991 a revised
approach and algorithm for ranking substances was developed. On June
27, 1991, a notice announcing the intention of ATSDR and EPA to revise
and rerank the Priority List of Hazardous Substances was published (56
FR 29485). The 1991 Priority List and revised approach used for its
compilation was summarized in the ``Revised Priority List of Hazardous
Substances'' Federal Register notice published October 17, 1991 (56 FR
52166). The same approach and the same basic algorithm have been used
in all subsequent listing activities, including 2007. The algorithm
consists of three criteria, which are combined to result in the total
score. The three criteria are
Frequency of occurrence at NPL sites;
Toxicity; and
Potential for human exposure.
Because HazDat is a dynamic database in which data collection is
ongoing, additional information from the HazDat database became
available for the 2007 listing activity. Since the development of the
2005 Priority List of Hazardous Substances, this additional information
has been entered into HazDat. The site-specific information from HazDat
used in the listing activity has been collected from ATSDR public
health assessments and from site-file data packages used to develop the
public health assessments. The new information may include more recent
NPL frequency-of-occurrence data, additional concentration data, and
more information on exposure to substances at NPL sites. Using these
additional data, one substance has been replaced on the list of 275
substances since the 2005 publication; the replacement substance was
previously under consideration. Changes in the order of substances
appearing on the CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances will be
reflected in program activities that rely on the list for future
direction.
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The 2007 Priority List of Hazardous Substances contains, based on
CERCLA Sec. 104(i)(2)(A) \3\ criteria, 275 substances that represent
the greatest concern to public health. Using the current algorithm, a
total of 859 candidate substances have been analyzed and ranked. Of
these candidates, the 275 substances on the priority list may in the
future become subjects of toxicological profiles.
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\3\ 42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(2)(A).
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In 2 years ATSDR intends to publish the next revised list of
hazardous substances, with an informal review and revision performed in
1 year. These revisions will reflect changes and improvements in data
collection and in availability. Additional information on the existing
methodology used in the development of the CERCLA Priority List of
Hazardous Substances can be found in the List Support Document and in
the above-referenced Federal Register notices.
In addition to the revised priority list, ATSDR is also releasing a
Completed Exposure Pathway Site Count Report. A completed exposure
pathway (CEP) links a contaminant source to a receptor population. The
CEP ranking is similar to a subcomponent of the listing algorithm's
potential-for-human-exposure component. The CEP ranking is based on a
site frequency count and thus lists the number of sites at which a
substance has been found in a CEP. ATSDR's HazDat database contains
this information, which is derived from ATSDR public health assessments
and from health consultations. The CEP report therefore focuses on
documented exposure, and lists hazardous substances according to
exposure frequency. Because exposure to hazardous substances is a
matter of concern, ATSDR publishes this CEP report together with the
CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances.
The substances in the CEP report are similar to those in the CERCLA
Priority List of Hazardous Substances. Substances are listed in the CEP
report because they are frequently found in completed exposure
pathways. Some of these substances, however, have a very low toxicity
(e.g., sodium) and as a result are not included in the CERCLA Priority
List. As stated, given that the CERCLA Priority List uses toxicity,
frequency of occurrence, and potential for human exposure to determine
its priority substances, other low-toxicity substances will not appear
on the CERCLA Priority List and, consequently, will not become subjects
of toxicological profiles. In addition, because CERCLA mandates the
preparation of the Priority List, that list only incorporates data from
CERCLA NPL sites. The CEP report, on the other hand, uses data from all
ATSDR-activity sites at which a CEP has been detected.
Ken Rose,
Associate Director, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, National
Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry.
[FR Doc. E8-4339 Filed 3-5-08; 8:45 am]
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