[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 189 (Thursday, September 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60454-60456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24580]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9208-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0540]
Draft Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium: In Support of
Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period and Listening Session.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 60-day public comment period and a public
listening session for the external review draft human health assessment
titled, ``Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium: In Support of
Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)''
EPA/635/R-10/004C. The draft assessment was prepared by the National
Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the EPA Office of
Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this draft assessment
solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under
applicable information quality guidelines. This draft assessment has
not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should
not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. After
public review and comment, an EPA contractor will convene an expert
panel for independent external peer review of this draft assessment.
The public comment period and external peer review meeting are separate
processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to
comment on the assessment. The external peer review meeting will be
scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal Register. Public
comments submitted during the public comment period will be provided to
the external peer reviewers before the panel meeting and considered by
EPA in the disposition of public comments. Public comments received
after the public comment period closes will not be submitted to the
external peer reviewers and will only be considered by EPA if time
permits.
The listening session will be held on November 18, 2010, during the
public comment period for this draft assessment. 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 attending the listening session. EPA
welcomes the comments that will be provided to the Agency by the
listening session participants. The comments will be considered by the
Agency as it revises the draft assessment after the independent
external peer review. If listening session participants want EPA to
share their comments with the external peer reviewers, they should also
submit written comments during the public comment period using the
detailed and established procedures described in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
DATES: The public comment period begins September 30, 2010, and ends
November 29, 2010. Comments should be in writing and must be received
by EPA by November 29, 2010.
The listening session on the draft assessment for hexavalent
chromium will be held on November 18, 2010, beginning at 9 a.m. and
ending at 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. To attend the listening
session, interested parties should register no later than November 11,
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. The following are instructions
for registering: To attend or present comments at the listening
session, register by November 11, 2010, via the Internet at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/peerreview/register-hexavalent.htm. You may also register via e-mail at: [email protected]
(subject line: ``Hexavalent Chromium Listening Session,'' please
indicate whether you would like to make oral comments, and include your
name, title, affiliation, full address and contact information), by
phone: 781-674-7374 or toll free at 800-803-2833, or by faxing a
registration request to 781-674-2906 (please reference the ``Hexavalent
Chromium Listening Session'' and include your name, title, affiliation,
full address and contact information). 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
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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 November
11, 2010, the listening session will be cancelled, and EPA will notify
those registered of the cancellation.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium: In
Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS)'' is available primarily via the Internet on the NCEA
home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from
the Information Management Team (Address: Information Management Team,
National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-
8691). If you request a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing
address, and the draft assessment title.
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by e-mail, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
The listening session on the draft hexavalent chromium assessment
will be held at the EPA offices at Potomac Yard (North Building), Room
7100, 2733 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Please note
that to gain entrance to this EPA building to attend the meeting, you
must have photo identification 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, you should
provide 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.
Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA
welcomes public attendance at the hexavalent chromium 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 by phone at 703-347-8592 or
by e-mail at [email protected]. To request accommodation for
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.
Additional Information: For information on the docket, http://www.regulations.gov, or the public comment period, please contact the
Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753;
or e-mail: [email protected].
For information on the public listening session, please contact
Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National Center for Environmental
Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-
347-8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For information on the draft assessment, please contact Ted Berner,
National Center for Environmental Assessment (8601-P), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (703) 347-8583; facsimile: (703) 347-
8689; or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About IRIS
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.
II. How To Submit Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-
0540, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Facsimile: 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 telephone number is
202-566-1752. If you provide comments by mail, 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 comments, and submit an unbound original and
three copies.
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 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. 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
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 comments, and
submit an unbound original and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2010-0540. 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
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any personal information provided, unless comments include 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 that EPA will
not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in
the body of your comments. If you send e-mail comments directly to EPA
without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address
will be automatically captured and included as part of the comments
that are placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit electronic comments, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comments and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read
your comments due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comments.
Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters and 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
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: September 20, 2010.
Lynn Flowers,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-24580 Filed 9-29-10; 8:45 am]
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