[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51278-51279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19694]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-2002-0127; FRL-7188-9]
Availability of the Tolerance Reassessment Decision (TRED) for
Trichlorfon
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the tolerance
reassessment decision document for trichlorfon. The trichlorfon
document, referred to as a TRED, is the Agency's Report of the Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment Progress and
Interim Risk Management Decision for Trichlorfon. The documents have
been developed using a public participation process designed by EPA and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to involve the public in the
reassessment of pesticide tolerances under the FQPA and the
reregistration of individual organophosphates (OPs) under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
DATES: EPA is maintaining an open docket for trichloron under docket ID
number, OPP-2002-0127. The Agency will place any new comments there for
future consideration. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative
that you identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on
the first page of your response.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in
person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as
provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure proper
receipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number
OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on the first page of your response.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Kylie Rothwell, Special
Review and Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 308-8055; e-mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general. This action may,
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to
conduct testing of chemical substances under FIFRA or the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); environmental, human health, and
agricultural advocates; pesticides users; and members of the public
interested in the use of pesticides. Since other entities may also be
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific
entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity,
consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this
Document and Other Related Documents?
1. Electronically.You may obtain electronic copies of this
document, and certain other related documents that might be available
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/.
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and
Regulations,'' ``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' and then look up the
entry for this document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental
Documents.'' You can also go directly to the Federal Register listings
at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
To access reregistration eligibility decision (RED) documents and
fact sheets electronically, go directly to the documents on TREDs table
on EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs Home Page, at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration.
2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for
this action under docket ID number OPP-2002-0127. The official record
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, and
other information related to this action, including any information
claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI). This official
record includes the documents that are physically located in the
docket, as well as the documents that are referenced in those
documents. The public version of the official record does not include
any information claimed as CBI. The public version of the official
record, which includes printed, paper versions of any electronic
comments submitted during an applicable comment period is available for
inspection in the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch
(PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,
Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or
electronically. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that
you identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0127 in the subject line on the
first page of your response.
1. By mail. Submit your comments to: Public Information and Records
Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and Services Division
(7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
2. In person or by courier. Deliver your comments to: Public
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources
and Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The PIRIB is open from 8:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
D. How Should I Handle CBI That I Want to Submit to the Agency?
Do not submit any information electronically that you consider to
be CBI. You may claim information that you submit to EPA in response to
this document as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. In addition to one complete
version of the comment that includes any information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as
CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public version of the
official record. Information not marked confidential will be included
in the public version
[[Page 51279]]
of the official record without prior notice. If you have any questions
about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your
comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used
that support your views.
4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
6. Offer alternative ways to improve the notice or collection
activity.
7. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this
document.
8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal
Registercitation.
II. What Action is the Agency Taking?
These documents were developed using the OP public participation
process. The process was designed to increase transparency and maximize
stakeholder involvement, and provides numerous opportunities for public
comment. EPA has also conducted extensive outreach to affected parties.
EPA is taking this action without a formal comment period. The public
participation process for trichlorfon provided opportunities for public
comment as EPA developed these decisions. To read more about the OP
public participation process, see http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/process.htm. Below is a brief summary of EPA's interim decisions, which
are fully described in the TRED or interim reregistration eligibility
decision (IRED) documents.
A. Trichlorfon Decision
EPA has reassessed risks from non-occupational exposure to
trichlorfon through food, drinking water, and residential uses.
Trichlorfon is not expected to pose risk concerns for these exposures
provided that risk mitigation measures identified in the TRED for
trichlorfon are adopted. Under the FQPA, EPA must review tolerances and
tolerance exemptions that were already in effect when Congress enacted
the FQPA in August 1996, to ensure that existing pesticide residue
limits for food and feed commodities meet the safety standard of the
new law. EPA completed a RED for trichlorfon in September 1995, prior
to FQPA enactment, and therefore needed an updated assessment to
consider the provisions of the Act. In reviewing these tolerances, the
Agency must consider, among other things, aggregate risks from non-
occupational sources of pesticide exposure, whether there is increased
susceptibility to infants and children, and the cumulative effects of
pesticides with a common mechanism of toxicity. Once the Agency has
considered the cumulative risks for the OPs, tolerances for trichlorfon
will be reassessed in that light.
The Agency also reevaluated the occupational risks for trichlorfon,
based on newly submitted data associated with the current non-
agricultural uses. Risk mitigation measures to be implemented for these
uses included:
1. Limiting application of trichlorfon to tees and greens of golf
course turf.
2. Cancelling foliar application of trichlorfon to ornamental
plants (only direct application to soil is allowed).
3. Allowing only truck-drawn spraying of large ponds for
ornamentals and bait fish, and requiring an on-off switch inside the
truck cab.
B. Next steps
EPA's next step under FQPA is to consider a cumulative risk
assessment and risk management decision for the OP pesticides, which
share a common mechanism of toxicity. Because the Agency has not yet
considered the cumulative risks for the OPs, the Agency's interim
decisions do not fully satisfy the reassessment of the existing food
residue tolerances as required by FQPA. When the Agency has considered
the cumulative risks for the OPs, then the tolerances for OP pesticides
will be reassessed in this light. At that time, the Agency will
complete the FQPA requirements for the OPs and, where required, make
final REDs, which may include further risk mitigation measures.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: July 29, 2002.
Lois A. Rossi,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-19694 Filed 8-6-02; 8:45 am]
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