Review of Chemical Proposals for Addition under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; Solicitation of Information for the Development of Risk Profiles, 4913-4916 [E6-1107]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Notices
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a
public teleconference meeting of the
chartered SAB to discuss a draft SAB
report, EPA’s Draft Risk Assessment of
the Potential Human Health Effects
Associated with Exposure to
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA): A
Review by the PFOA Review Panel of
the EPA Science Advisory Board.
DATES: The date for the teleconference is
February 15, 2006, from 1:45–4 p.m.
(eastern time).
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place
via telephone only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Members of the public who wish to
obtain the call-in number and access
code to participate in the telephone
conference may contact Mr. Thomas O.
Miller, Designated Federal Officer
(DFO), Science Advisory Board Staff
Office (1400F), U.S. EPA, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; or via
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343–9982
or via e-mail at miller.tom@epa.gov.
General information about the SAB as
well as any updates concerning the
meeting announced in this notice, may
be found on the SAB Web site at
https://www.epa.gov/sab. The technical
contact in EPA’s Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) is Dr.
Jennifer Seed who can be reached via email at seed.jennifer@epa.gov or via
telephone/voice mail at 202–564–7634.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
Public Law 92–463, notice is hereby
given that the SAB will hold a public
teleconference on the date and time
provided above. The purpose of this
telephone conference is to have the
chartered SAB review and approve the
draft SAB report EPA’s Draft Risk
Assessment of the Potential Human
Health Effects Associated with Exposure
to Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA): A
Review by the PFOA Review Panel of
the EPA Science Advisory Board. The
focus of the meeting is to consider
whether: (i) The charge to the SAB
review panel has been adequately
addressed in the draft report, (ii) the
draft report is clear and logical and (iii)
the conclusions drawn or
recommendations made in the draft
report are supported by the body of the
report.
Background
EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics (OPPT) had requested that
the SAB peer review the Agency’s
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Risk
Assessment. Background on the PFOA
Review Panel activities can be found in
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several Federal Register notices 69 FR
16249–16250 (March 29 2004); 70 FR
2157–2158 (January 12, 2005); 70 FR
32771–32772 (June 6, 2005).
Information can also be found on the
EPA SAB Web site at https://
www.epa.gov/sab/panels/
pfoa_rev_panel.htm.
Availability of Meeting Materials
A roster of participating SAB
members and the meeting agenda will
be posted on the SAB Web site prior to
the meeting. The draft report that is the
subject of this meeting will be available
on the SAB Web site (see above) prior
to the meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input
Interested members of the public may
submit relevant written or oral
information for the SAB Panel to
consider during the advisory process.
Oral Statements: In general, individuals
or groups requesting an oral
presentation at a public teleconference
will be limited to three minutes per
speaker with no more than a total of
thirty minutes for all speakers.
Interested parties should contact the
DFO, contact information provided
above, in writing via e-mail by February
7, 2006, to be placed on the public
speaker list for the teleconference.
Written Statements: Written statements
should be received in the SAB Staff
Office by February 7, 2006, so that the
information may be made available to
the Panel for their consideration.
Written statements should be supplied
to the DFO in the following formats:
One hard copy with original signature,
and one electronic copy via e-mail
(acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat,
WordPerfect, Word or Rich Text files in
IBM–PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Meeting Accommodations
For information on access or services
for individuals with disabilities, please
contact the DFO, contact information
provided above. To request
accommodation of a disability, please
contact the DFO, preferably at least 10
days prior to the meeting, to give EPA
as much time as possible to process
your request.
Dated: January 18, 2006.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Associate Director for Science, EPA Science
Advisory Board Staff Office.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2005–0555; FRL–7758–9]
Review of Chemical Proposals for
Addition under the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants; Solicitation of Information
for the Development of Risk Profiles
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice solicits
information relevant to the development
of risk profiles pursuant to the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs Convention)
for the following chemicals which are
being reviewed for possible addition to
the POPs Convention’s Annexes A, B,
and/or C as POPs: Hexabromobiphenyl
(HBB) (CAS No. 36355–01–8);
pentabromodiphenyl ether (PBDE) (CAS
No. 32534–81–9); chlordecone (CAS No.
143–50–0); lindane (CAS No. 58–89–9);
and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).
EPA is issuing this notice to alert
interested and potentially affected
persons of these proposals and the
status of their review under the POPs
Convention, and to encourage such
persons to provide information relevant
to the development of risk profiles
under Article 8 and Annex E of the
POPs Convention.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before February 14, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2005–0555, by
one of the following methods.
• https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• E-mail: oppt.ncic@epa.gov.
• Mail: Document Control Office
(7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460–
0001.
• Hand Delivery: OPPT Document
Control Office (DCO, EPA East Bldg.,
Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC. Attention: Docket ID
number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2005–0555.
The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
DCO is (202) 564–8930. Such deliveries
are only accepted during the Docket’s
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPPT–
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Notices
2005–0555. EPA’s policy is that all
comments received will be included in
the public docket without change and
may be made available online at https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the 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 regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov website is an
‘‘anonymous access’’ systems, 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
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.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the regulations.gov index.
Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available,
i.e., CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available electronically through
regulations.gov or in hard copy at the
OPPT Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/
DC), EPA West, Rm. B102, 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, and the telephone
number for the OPPT Docket is (202)
566–0280.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general information contact: Colby
Linter, Regulatory Coordinator,
Environmental Assistance Division
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
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Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone
number: (202) 554–1404; e-mail address:
TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.
For technical information contact:
Amy Breedlove, Chemical Control
Division, (7405M), Office Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460–
0001; telephone number: (202) 564–
9823; e-mail address:
breedlove.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public
in general, and may be of particular
interest to chemical substance and
pesticide manufacturers, importers, and
processors. 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
technical person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare
My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this
information to EPA through
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark
the part or all of the information that
you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD ROM that
you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the
disk or CD ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD ROM the specific information that is
claimed CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes 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 docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
2. Procedures for preparing
confidential information related to
pesticides and industrial chemicals are
in Unit I.B.1. Send confidential
information about industrial chemicals
using the submission procedures under
ADDRESSES. Send confidential
information about pesticides to:
Cathleen McInerney Barnes,
International Programs Manager, Office
of Pesticide Programs (7506C),
Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC 20460–0001 or hand
delivered to: Cathleen Barnes,
Government and International Services
Branch, Office of Pesticide Programs,
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Rm. 1104G, Crystal Mall #2, 1801 Bell
St., Arlington, VA.
3. Commenters should note that none
of the CBI information received by EPA
will be forwarded to the POPs
Secretariat. Information from
submissions containing CBI may be
incorporated into larger products by
EPA but CBI will be masked in any such
products.
4. Tips for preparing your comments.
When submitting comments, remember
to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The agency may
ask you to respond to specific questions
or organize comments by referencing a
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part
or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree;
suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at the
estimate.
vi. Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns, and suggested
alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
The POPs Convention is a multilateral
environmental agreement designed to
protect human health and the
environment from POPs. The United
States signed the POPs Convention in
May of 2001 but has not yet ratified it
(and thus is not a Party to the POPs
Convention). The POPs Convention,
which went into force in May of 2004,
requires the Parties to reduce or
eliminate the production and use of a
number of intentionally produced POPs
used as pesticides or industrial
chemicals. The POPs Convention also
calls upon Parties to take certain
specified measures to reduce releases of
certain unintentionally produced POPs
with the goal of their continuing
minimization and, where feasible,
ultimate elimination. It also imposes
controls on the handling of POPs wastes
and on trade in POPs chemicals. In
addition, there are specific sciencebased procedures that Parties to the
POPs Convention must use when
adding new chemicals to the POPs
Convention’s Annexes.
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The first meeting of the committee
that reviews proposals for listing of new
chemicals, called the POPs Review
Committee (POPRC), took place
November 7–11, 2005, in Geneva,
Switzerland. Information about the
POPs Convention and the November
POPRC meeting is available at the POPs
Convention website at https://
www.pops.int and https://www.pops.int/
documents/meetings/poprc,
respectively. The POPRC had before it
five proposals which were submitted for
its consideration by Parties to the POPs
Convention, for addition to Annexes A,
B, and/or C of the POPs Convention.
Three of the five proposals were for
industrial chemicals:
• PBDE.
• HBB.
• PFOS.
Two of the five proposals were for
pesticides:
• Lindane.
• Chlordecone.
In accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 8 of the POPs
Convention, during the November
meeting POPRC examined the proposals
and applied the screening criteria in
Annex D of the POPs Convention
(‘‘Information Requirements and
Screening Criteria’’). With regard to all
five chemicals, POPRC decided that it
was satisfied that the screening criteria
had been fulfilled and that further work
should therefore be undertaken in
accordance with the provisions of the
POPs Convention.
The next step in the process is for
POPRC to prepare a risk profile for each
of the chemicals to, as noted in Annex
E of the POPs Convention, ‘‘evaluate
whether the chemical is likely, as a
result of its long-range environmental
transport, to lead to significant adverse
human health and/or environmental
effects, such that global action is
warranted.’’ The risk profile must
further evaluate and elaborate on the
information referred to in Annex D of
the POPs Convention and include, as far
as possible, the information listed in
Annex E of the POPs Convention
(‘‘Information Requirements for the Risk
Profile’’). A draft outline of the risk
profile has been developed by POPRC,
available at https://www.pops.int/
documents/meetings/poprc. As
requested by POPRC through the POPs
Convention Secretariat, the risk profile
will take into account information to be
submitted by Parties and Observers (the
current step). If, on the basis of the risk
profile, POPRC decides that the
chemical is likely, as a result of its longrange environmental transport, to lead
to significant adverse human health
and/or environmental effects, such that
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global action is warranted, it will
proceed to develop a risk management
evaluation. This will include an
analysis of the possible control
measures as well as the socio-economic
considerations, and at that stage
information relating to socio-economic
considerations will be requested from
Parties and Observers. See Annex F of
the POPs Convention (‘‘Information on
Socio-economic Considerations’’).
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
The Agency is issuing this notice to
increase awareness of the proposals
concerning the chemicals, and to
provide interested persons with an
opportunity to provide relevant
information. The POPs Convention
Secretariat’s invitation to submit
information states that the POPs
Convention Secretariat is only accepting
responses from Parties and Observers.
The United States is an Observer. EPA
is requesting that any information be
submitted to EPA no later than February
14, 2006. The United States intends to
make an initial submission by January
27, 2006, to meet the POPs Secretariat’s
deadline. However, EPA also plans to
make a second submission, as
appropriate, based on information
resulting from this notice on or about
mid-to-late February 2006. In addition,
EPA will consider the information
during its review of the risk profiles
developed by the POPRC in the coming
months. Individuals or organizations
that wish to submit information directly
to the POPs Convention Secretariat
should work through their respective
observer organizations, if any.
B. What Information is Being
Requested?
The EPA is seeking information that
is supplementary to the information in
the proposals on the chemicals and
POPRC’s evaluation of the proposals
against Annex D of the POPs
Convention’s screening criteria. The
proposals and the evaluations are
available at the POPs Convention
website at https://www.pops.int/
documents/meetings/poprc/default.htm.
EPA has previously solicited
information through the Lindane
Reregistration Eligibility Document
(RED) and through its participation in
the draft North American Regional
Action Plan (NARAP) on Lindane and
other Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers.
Consequently, EPA is only interested in
any new information on lindane that
may have been developed since those
activities.
Commenters are invited to provide
information they deem relevant to
POPRC’s development of risk profiles,
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such as that specified in Annex E of the
POPs Convention and other related
information, as described below:
1. Sources, including as appropriate:
i. Production data, including quantity
and location.
ii. Uses.
iii. Releases, such as discharges,
losses, and emissions.
2. Hazard assessment for the endpoint
or endpoints of concern (as identified in
the proposals and/or POPRC’s
evaluation of the proposals against the
screening criteria of Annex D of the
POPs Convention), including a
consideration of toxicological
interactions involving multiple
chemicals.
3. Environmental fate, including data
and information on the chemical and
physical properties of a chemical as
well as its persistence and how they are
linked to its environmental transport,
transfer within and between
environmental compartments,
degradation, and transformation to other
chemicals. (POPRC is to make a
determination of the bioconcentration
factor or bio-accumulation factor, based
on measured values, available, except
when monitoring data are judged to
meet this need.)
4. Monitoring data.
5. Exposure in local areas and, in
particular, as a result of long-range
environmental transport, and including
information regarding bio-availability.
In addition, POPRC has identified
some additional types of information on
several of the chemicals that would be
useful in the development of the risk
profiles. That information can be found
in the Letter of Invitation on the POPs
Convention website at https://
www.pops.int/documents/meetings/
poprc/default.htm.
C. How Should the Information be
Provided?
1. EPA requests that commenters,
where possible, use the form developed
by POPRC to provide their information.
The form can be found on the POPs
Convention website at https://
www.pops.int/documents/meetings/
poprc. Commenters are requested to
include clear and precise references for
all sources. Without the exact source of
the information, POPRC will not be able
to use the information. If the
information is not readily available in
the public literature, commenters may
consider attaching the original source of
the information to their submission.
Commenters should indicate clearly on
the form which chemical the
information concerns and use one form
per chemical. If for some reason the
form does not provide an adequate
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 19 / Monday, January 30, 2006 / Notices
mechanism for a type of comment or
information, EPA requests that such
comment or information be submitted
using a similar format; this will increase
the likelihood of the relevant
information being considered.
2. Although POPRC has developed
provisional arrangements for the
treatment of confidential information, as
mentioned in Unit I.B.3. no CBI will be
forwarded to the POPs Convention
Secretariat. EPA will, however, consider
such information in development of the
U.S. response to the POPs Convention
Secretariat. Instructions on where and
how to submit comments and
confidential information can be found
in Unit I.B.2. and ADDRESSES.
3. Anyone wishing to have an
opportunity to communicate with EPA
orally on this issue should consult the
technical person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
D. What is the Agency’s Authority for
Taking this Action?
EPA is requesting comment and
information under the authority of
section 102(2)(F) of the National
Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C.
section 4321 et seq., which directs all
agencies of the Federal Government to
‘‘[r]ecognize the worldwide and longrange character of environmental
problems and, where consistent with
the foreign policy of the United States,
lend appropriate support to initiatives,
resolutions and programs designed to
maximize cooperation in anticipating
and preventing a decline in the quality
of mankind’s world environment.’’
Section 17(d) of Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
also provides additional support in that
it directs the Administrator of EPA ‘‘in
cooperation with the Department of
State and any other appropriate Federal
agency, [to] participate and cooperate in
any international efforts to develop
improved pesticide research and
regulations.’’
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Environmental protection, Chemicals,
Hazardous substances.
Dated: January 23, 2006.
Charles M. Auer,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8026–2]
Proposed Settlement Under Section
122(h) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act
Regarding the CPS/Madison Superfund
Site, Middlesex County, NJ
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed
administrative settlement and
opportunity for public comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The United States
Environmental Protection (‘‘EPA’’) is
proposing to enter into an
administrative settlement to resolve
claims under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act of 1980, as amended
(‘‘CERCLA’’). In accordance with section
122(h)(i)(1) of CERCLA, notice is hereby
given of a proposed administrative
settlement concerning the CPS/Madison
Site (‘‘the Site’’). Section 122(h) of
CERCLA provides EPA with the
authority to consider, compromise and
settle certain claims for costs incurred
by the United States. Notice is being
published to inform the public of the
proposed settlement and of the
opportunity to comment. The
administrative settlement is contained
in the Administrative Order on Consent
for Remedial Investigation and
Feasibility Study (‘‘RI/FS’’), U.S. EPA
Index No. CERCLA–02–2004–2027 (the
‘‘Order’’). The administrative settlement
compromises $28,357.04 of EPA’s past
response costs incurred at the Site and
provides that after Ciba Specialty
Chemicals Corp. (‘‘Ciba’’) performs the
RI/FS for the Site pursuant to the Order,
it may apply for a credit, up to a
maximum amount of $250,000.00, for
the incremental cost of analyzing
groundwater samples for metals in
addition to other contaminants. The
credit can be applied toward EPA’s
unreimbused response costs at the Site,
should EPA attempt to recover those
costs from Ciba in the future. The credit
applies only to any future claim made
by EPA for unreimbursed costs incurred
or to be incurred by EPA concerning the
Site.
EPA will consider any comments
received during the comment period
and may withdraw or withhold consent
to the proposed settlement if comments
disclose facts or considerations that
indicate the proposed settlement is
inappropriate, improper, or inadequate.
EPA’s response to any comments
received will be available for public
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inspection at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Regional
Counsel, 290 Broadway—17th floor,
New York, New York 10007–1866.
Telephone: (212) 637–3111.
DATES: Comments must be provided by
March 1, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Regional Counsel, 290
Broadway—17th Floor, New York, NY
10007 and should refer to: In the Matter
of the CPS/Madison Superfund Site,
U.S. EPA Index No. CERCLA–02–2004–
2027.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Regional Counsel, 290
Broadway—17th Floor, New York, NY
10007, (212) 637–3142.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A copy of
the proposed administrative settlement,
as well as background information
relating to the settlement, may be
obtained in person or by mail from Clay
Monroe, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Regional Counsel, 290
Broadway—17th Floor, New York, NY
10007. Telephone: (212) 637–3142.
Dated: December 9, 2005.
Raymond Basso,
Acting Director, Emergency and Remedial
Response Division, Region 2.
[FR Doc. E6–1108 Filed 1–27–06; 8:45 am]
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[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4913-4916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1107]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0555; FRL-7758-9]
Review of Chemical Proposals for Addition under the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; Solicitation of
Information for the Development of Risk Profiles
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice solicits information relevant to the development
of risk profiles pursuant to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs Convention) for the following chemicals which
are being reviewed for possible addition to the POPs Convention's
Annexes A, B, and/or C as POPs: Hexabromobiphenyl (HBB) (CAS No. 36355-
01-8); pentabromodiphenyl ether (PBDE) (CAS No. 32534-81-9);
chlordecone (CAS No. 143-50-0); lindane (CAS No. 58-89-9); and
perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). EPA is issuing this notice to alert
interested and potentially affected persons of these proposals and the
status of their review under the POPs Convention, and to encourage such
persons to provide information relevant to the development of risk
profiles under Article 8 and Annex E of the POPs Convention.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 14, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0555, by one of the following methods.
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: oppt.ncic@epa.gov.
Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO, EPA East
Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC.
Attention: Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0555. The DCO is open from
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
telephone number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930. Such deliveries are
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-
[[Page 4914]]
2005-0555. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the 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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' systems,
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 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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information
is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available electronically through regulations.gov or in
hard copy at the OPPT Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Rm.
B102, 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, and the telephone number for the
OPPT Docket is (202) 566-0280.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby
Linter, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: TSCA-
Hotline@epa.gov.
For technical information contact: Amy Breedlove, Chemical Control
Division, (7405M), Office Pollution Prevention and Toxics,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-9823; e-mail
address: breedlove.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
particular interest to chemical substance and pesticide manufacturers,
importers, and processors. 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
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or
CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the
specific information that is claimed CBI. In addition to one complete
version of the comment that includes 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 docket. Information so
marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set
forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Procedures for preparing confidential information related to
pesticides and industrial chemicals are in Unit I.B.1. Send
confidential information about industrial chemicals using the
submission procedures under ADDRESSES. Send confidential information
about pesticides to: Cathleen McInerney Barnes, International Programs
Manager, Office of Pesticide Programs (7506C), Environmental Protection
Agency, Washington, DC 20460-0001 or hand delivered to: Cathleen
Barnes, Government and International Services Branch, Office of
Pesticide Programs, Rm. 1104G, Crystal Mall 2, 1801 Bell St.,
Arlington, VA.
3. Commenters should note that none of the CBI information received
by EPA will be forwarded to the POPs Secretariat. Information from
submissions containing CBI may be incorporated into larger products by
EPA but CBI will be masked in any such products.
4. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at the estimate.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggested alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
The POPs Convention is a multilateral environmental agreement
designed to protect human health and the environment from POPs. The
United States signed the POPs Convention in May of 2001 but has not yet
ratified it (and thus is not a Party to the POPs Convention). The POPs
Convention, which went into force in May of 2004, requires the Parties
to reduce or eliminate the production and use of a number of
intentionally produced POPs used as pesticides or industrial chemicals.
The POPs Convention also calls upon Parties to take certain specified
measures to reduce releases of certain unintentionally produced POPs
with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible,
ultimate elimination. It also imposes controls on the handling of POPs
wastes and on trade in POPs chemicals. In addition, there are specific
science-based procedures that Parties to the POPs Convention must use
when adding new chemicals to the POPs Convention's Annexes.
[[Page 4915]]
The first meeting of the committee that reviews proposals for
listing of new chemicals, called the POPs Review Committee (POPRC),
took place November 7-11, 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland. Information
about the POPs Convention and the November POPRC meeting is available
at the POPs Convention website at https://www.pops.int and https://
www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc, respectively. The POPRC had
before it five proposals which were submitted for its consideration by
Parties to the POPs Convention, for addition to Annexes A, B, and/or C
of the POPs Convention. Three of the five proposals were for industrial
chemicals:
PBDE.
HBB.
PFOS.
Two of the five proposals were for pesticides:
Lindane.
Chlordecone.
In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of the POPs
Convention, during the November meeting POPRC examined the proposals
and applied the screening criteria in Annex D of the POPs Convention
(``Information Requirements and Screening Criteria''). With regard to
all five chemicals, POPRC decided that it was satisfied that the
screening criteria had been fulfilled and that further work should
therefore be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the POPs
Convention.
The next step in the process is for POPRC to prepare a risk profile
for each of the chemicals to, as noted in Annex E of the POPs
Convention, ``evaluate whether the chemical is likely, as a result of
its long-range environmental transport, to lead to significant adverse
human health and/or environmental effects, such that global action is
warranted.'' The risk profile must further evaluate and elaborate on
the information referred to in Annex D of the POPs Convention and
include, as far as possible, the information listed in Annex E of the
POPs Convention (``Information Requirements for the Risk Profile''). A
draft outline of the risk profile has been developed by POPRC,
available at https://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc. As requested
by POPRC through the POPs Convention Secretariat, the risk profile will
take into account information to be submitted by Parties and Observers
(the current step). If, on the basis of the risk profile, POPRC decides
that the chemical is likely, as a result of its long-range
environmental transport, to lead to significant adverse human health
and/or environmental effects, such that global action is warranted, it
will proceed to develop a risk management evaluation. This will include
an analysis of the possible control measures as well as the socio-
economic considerations, and at that stage information relating to
socio-economic considerations will be requested from Parties and
Observers. See Annex F of the POPs Convention (``Information on Socio-
economic Considerations'').
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
The Agency is issuing this notice to increase awareness of the
proposals concerning the chemicals, and to provide interested persons
with an opportunity to provide relevant information. The POPs
Convention Secretariat's invitation to submit information states that
the POPs Convention Secretariat is only accepting responses from
Parties and Observers. The United States is an Observer. EPA is
requesting that any information be submitted to EPA no later than
February 14, 2006. The United States intends to make an initial
submission by January 27, 2006, to meet the POPs Secretariat's
deadline. However, EPA also plans to make a second submission, as
appropriate, based on information resulting from this notice on or
about mid-to-late February 2006. In addition, EPA will consider the
information during its review of the risk profiles developed by the
POPRC in the coming months. Individuals or organizations that wish to
submit information directly to the POPs Convention Secretariat should
work through their respective observer organizations, if any.
B. What Information is Being Requested?
The EPA is seeking information that is supplementary to the
information in the proposals on the chemicals and POPRC's evaluation of
the proposals against Annex D of the POPs Convention's screening
criteria. The proposals and the evaluations are available at the POPs
Convention website at https://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc/
default.htm.
EPA has previously solicited information through the Lindane
Reregistration Eligibility Document (RED) and through its participation
in the draft North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on Lindane and
other Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers. Consequently, EPA is only
interested in any new information on lindane that may have been
developed since those activities.
Commenters are invited to provide information they deem relevant to
POPRC's development of risk profiles, such as that specified in Annex E
of the POPs Convention and other related information, as described
below:
1. Sources, including as appropriate:
i. Production data, including quantity and location.
ii. Uses.
iii. Releases, such as discharges, losses, and emissions.
2. Hazard assessment for the endpoint or endpoints of concern (as
identified in the proposals and/or POPRC's evaluation of the proposals
against the screening criteria of Annex D of the POPs Convention),
including a consideration of toxicological interactions involving
multiple chemicals.
3. Environmental fate, including data and information on the
chemical and physical properties of a chemical as well as its
persistence and how they are linked to its environmental transport,
transfer within and between environmental compartments, degradation,
and transformation to other chemicals. (POPRC is to make a
determination of the bioconcentration factor or bio-accumulation
factor, based on measured values, available, except when monitoring
data are judged to meet this need.)
4. Monitoring data.
5. Exposure in local areas and, in particular, as a result of long-
range environmental transport, and including information regarding bio-
availability.
In addition, POPRC has identified some additional types of
information on several of the chemicals that would be useful in the
development of the risk profiles. That information can be found in the
Letter of Invitation on the POPs Convention website at https://
www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc/default.htm.
C. How Should the Information be Provided?
1. EPA requests that commenters, where possible, use the form
developed by POPRC to provide their information. The form can be found
on the POPs Convention website at https://www.pops.int/documents/
meetings/poprc. Commenters are requested to include clear and precise
references for all sources. Without the exact source of the
information, POPRC will not be able to use the information. If the
information is not readily available in the public literature,
commenters may consider attaching the original source of the
information to their submission. Commenters should indicate clearly on
the form which chemical the information concerns and use one form per
chemical. If for some reason the form does not provide an adequate
[[Page 4916]]
mechanism for a type of comment or information, EPA requests that such
comment or information be submitted using a similar format; this will
increase the likelihood of the relevant information being considered.
2. Although POPRC has developed provisional arrangements for the
treatment of confidential information, as mentioned in Unit I.B.3. no
CBI will be forwarded to the POPs Convention Secretariat. EPA will,
however, consider such information in development of the U.S. response
to the POPs Convention Secretariat. Instructions on where and how to
submit comments and confidential information can be found in Unit
I.B.2. and ADDRESSES.
3. Anyone wishing to have an opportunity to communicate with EPA
orally on this issue should consult the technical person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
D. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
EPA is requesting comment and information under the authority of
section 102(2)(F) of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C.
section 4321 et seq., which directs all agencies of the Federal
Government to ``[r]ecognize the worldwide and long-range character of
environmental problems and, where consistent with the foreign policy of
the United States, lend appropriate support to initiatives, resolutions
and programs designed to maximize cooperation in anticipating and
preventing a decline in the quality of mankind's world environment.''
Section 17(d) of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA) also provides additional support in that it directs the
Administrator of EPA ``in cooperation with the Department of State and
any other appropriate Federal agency, [to] participate and cooperate in
any international efforts to develop improved pesticide research and
regulations.''
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances.
Dated: January 23, 2006.
Charles M. Auer,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. E6-1107 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
