[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 124 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36321-36322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14521]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8685-6; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0461]
Draft Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 90-day public comment period for the draft
document entitled, ``Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-08/011A). The
document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development. The
draft tetrachloroethylene health assessment addresses both potential
cancer and non-cancer human health effects that may result from chronic
exposure to tetrachloroethylene. Tetrachloroethylene, commonly referred
to as ``perc'', is a solvent widely used in the dry cleaning of clothes
and as a metal degreaser.
EPA intends to consider comments and recommendations from the
public and the expert panel meeting, which will be announced at a later
date, when EPA finalizes the draft document. The public comment period
will provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the
document. EPA intends to forward public comments, submitted in
accordance with this notice, to the external peer-review panel prior to
the peer review meeting for their consideration.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination. EPA will consider any public comments
submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.
The draft document is available via the Internet on NCEA's homepage
under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at
http://www.epa.gov/ncea.
DATES: The 90-day public comment period begins June 26, 2008, and ends
September 24, 2008. Technical comments should be in writing and must be
received by EPA by September 24, 2008. EPA intends to submit comments
from the public received by this date for consideration by the external
peer review panel.
The draft tetrachloroethylene assessment will be independently peer
reviewed by an expert panel convened by The National Academies' Board
on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). Information on the
first meeting of the BEST tetrachloroethylene panel, expected to be
held in late fall 2008, will be posted on The National Academies' Web
site at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=48697. Note that due to the need to provide the
public comments to the peer review panel one month prior to their first
meeting, an extension of the public comment beyond the 90 days provided
will not be possible. EPA has lengthened the comment period for
tetrachloroethylene beyond the usual 60 days allotted for IRIS
assessments because of the expected high interest in this draft
assessment.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene
(Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' is available primarily via
the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent Additions and the
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited
number of paper copies are available by contacting the Information
Management Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-
8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name,
your mailing address, and the document title, ``Toxicological Review of
Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).''
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For technical information on the draft assessment, contact the
Information Management Team by (phone: 703-347-8561; fax: 703-347-8691;
or e-mail: [email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary Information About the Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS)
IRIS is a database that contains potential adverse human health
effects information that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure
to specific chemical substances found in the environment. The database
(available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/iris) contains
qualitative and quantitative health effects information for more than
540 chemical substances that may be used to support the first two steps
(hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk
assessment process. When supported by available data, the database
provides oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference
concentrations (RfCs) for chronic non-cancer health effects, and oral
slope factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects.
Combined with exposure information, government and private entities use
IRIS to help characterize the public health risks of chemical
substances and thereby support risk management decisions designed to
protect public health.
II. How to Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2008-
0461, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
[[Page 36322]]
Fax: 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 phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 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. Such 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 mail or hand delivery, please submit
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-
2008-0461. 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 any personal information provided,
unless a comment includes 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 EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, 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 www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: 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 materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: June 20, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-14521 Filed 6-25-08; 8:45 am]
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