Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium; Revised Human Health Risk Assessment, Notice of Availability and Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options, 24290-24292 [E7-8269]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices
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.
mmaher on DSK3CLS3C1PROD with $$_JOB
B. How Can I Get Copies of this
Document and Other Related
Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established a
docket for this action under docket
identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–
OPP–2007–0343. Publicly available
docket materials are available either in
the electronic docket at http://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only
available in hard copy, at the Office of
Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory
Public Docket in Rm. S–4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S.
Crystal Drive Arlington, VA. The hours
of operation of this Docket Facility are
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The Docket telephone number
is (703) 305–5805.
2. Electronic access. You may access
this Federal Register document
electronically through the EPA Internet
under the ‘‘Federal Register’’ listings at
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.
II. Background
EPA is currently reviewing six soil
fumigant pesticides. Four of the six are
in review for reregistration, including
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium,
metam potassium, and methyl bromide.
A fifth chemical, iodomethane, is being
reviewed for registration and is a
possible alternative to methyl bromide.
Reregistration for 1,3-dichloropropene
(1,3-D or Telone) was completed in
1998, but is included in the review for
comparative purposes.
EPA is reviewing the soil fumigant
pesticides using the 6-Phase Public
Participation Process described in the
Agency’s May 14, 2004 Federal Register
notice (69 FR 26819)(FRL–7357–9).
During Phase 5, the Agency is issuing
for public comment revised risk
assessments, benefits assessments, and a
paper outlining risk management
options for the soil fumigants. To obtain
additional, first-hand input from
stakeholders, EPA is holding meetings
during the Phase 5 public comment
period in areas of high soil fumigant
use.
EPA will begin each public meeting
with a brief overview of predicted risks
and benefits of soil fumigant use, as
well as possible measures that the
Agency expects will reduce risks. After
providing guidelines for making
comments, the Agency will take
comments from the public during the
remainder of the day. EPA plans to
transcribe the meetings so that
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03:08 Aug 19, 2011
Jkt 223001
comments received can be placed in the
docket where they will be available to
other members of the public.
EPA also plans to participate in a
stakeholder meeting held by the
California Department of Pesticide
Regulation on May 30, 2007, focusing
on California’s risk management
proposals for soil fumigants that
produce MITC, specifically metam
sodium and metam potassium.
California and EPA have been working
together on soil fumigant issues during
the last several years. Because the
mitigation proposals for these chemicals
include similar approaches to reduce
exposures, EPA will also consider
public comments provided by
stakeholders during this meeting. Please
visit the California Department of
Pesticide Regulation website for more
information: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/.
After considering all information and
comments received during Phase 5
through the public meetings and the
docket, EPA plans to develop risk
management decisions for the soil
fumigant pesticides later in 2007.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests.
Dated: April 24, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and
Reregistration Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. E7–8277 Filed 5–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–S
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125; FRL–8127–7]
Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium;
Revised Human Health Risk
Assessment, Notice of Availability and
Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
availability and seeks comments on
EPA’s revised human health risk
assessment for the pesticide fumigants
metam sodium and metam potassium.
In addition, this notice solicits public
comment on the risk reduction options
paper for fumigants including metam
sodium and metam potassium and
EPA’s benefits assessments for the soil
fumigants. The Agency is also seeking
comments on the ecological risk
assessment which was not revised since
the last public comment period. The
public is encouraged to suggest risk
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
management ideas or proposals to
address the risks identified. EPA is
developing a Reregistration Eligibility
Decision (RED) for metam sodium and
metam potassium through the full, 6Phase public participation process that
the Agency uses to involve the public in
developing pesticide reregistration and
tolerance reassessment decisions. EPA
also is concurrently assessing the risks
of four other soil fumigant pesticides to
ensure that its assessment approaches
are consistent, and to ensure that risk
tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be
adequately predicted in reaching risk
management decisions. The Agency is
seeking the same input from the public
on these pesticides on a similar
schedule. Through these programs, EPA
is ensuring that all pesticides meet
current health and safety standards.
Comments must be received on
or before July 2, 2007.
DATES:
Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125, by
one of the following methods:
<bullet≤ Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet≤ Mail: Office of Pesticide
Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
<bullet≤ Delivery: OPP Regulatory
Public Docket (7502P), Environmental
Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S.
Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries
are only accepted during the Docket’s
normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to
4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is (703) 3055805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–
0125. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the docket
without change and may be made
available on-line at http://
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 Federal regulations.gov
website is an ‘‘anonymous access’’
system, which means EPA will not
ADDRESSES:
E:\FEDREG\02MYN1.LOC
02MYN1
mmaher on DSK3CLS3C1PROD with $$_JOB
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices
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 email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the 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 docket index available
in regulations.gov. To access the
electronic docket, go to http://
www.regulations.gov, select ‘‘Advanced
Search,’’ then ‘‘Docket Search.’’ Insert
the docket ID number where indicated
and select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Follow
the instructions on the regulations.gov
web site to view the docket index or
access available documents. 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,
is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either in the
electronic docket at http://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only
available in hard copy, at the OPP
Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400,
One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777
S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours
of operation of this Docket Facility are
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The Docket telephone number
is (703) 305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Veronique LaCapra, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office
of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001;
telephone number: (703) 605-1525; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address:
lacapra.veronique@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 interest to a
VerDate Mar 15 2010
03:08 Aug 19, 2011
Jkt 223001
wide range of stakeholders including
environmental, human health, and
agricultural advocates; the chemical
industry; pesticide users; and members
of the public interested in the sale,
distribution, or use of pesticides. Since
others also may 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. 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 as 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. 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
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns and suggest
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.
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24291
II. Background
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is making available the Agency’s
revised human health risk assessment
and ecological risk assessment, initially
issued for comment through a Federal
Register notice published on July 13,
2005, (70 FR 40333) (FRL–7722–1); a
response to comments; and related
documents for metam sodium and
metam potassium. EPA also is soliciting
public comment on the risk reduction
options paper and benefits assessments
for the soil fumigants. EPA developed
the risk assessments for metam sodium
and metam potassium as part of its
public process for making pesticide
reregistration eligibility and tolerance
reassessment decisions. Through these
programs, EPA is ensuring that
pesticides meet current standards under
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA), as amended by the Food
Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
Metam sodium and metam potassium
are non-selective pre-plant soil
fumigants with fungicidal, herbicidal,
insecticidal, and nematicidal properties.
They are registered for use on all food,
feed and fiber crops including turf and
ornamentals. Metam sodium’s major
agricultural use sites include potatoes,
carrots, tomatoes, onions, and peanuts.
Metam potassium’s major use sites are
lettuce, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and
watermelons. Metam sodium is also
registered for use in orchard replant, on
golf course turf, and for small areas of
turf and soil. In addition, metam sodium
is used as a root-control agent in drains
and sewers. Metam sodium and metam
potassium are also registered for a
variety of antimicrobial and industrial
uses. Metam sodium and metam
potassium are converted to methyl
isothiocyanate (MITC) in the
environment, particularly in the
presence of moisture (such as in soil
after application). It is MITC that
performs the fumigating activity. The
volatility of metam sodium and metam
potassium in the environment, and
results of metabolism studies in plants,
assure that there is no reasonable
expectation of finite residues to be
incurred in/on any raw agricultural
commodity when the products are
applied according to label directions.
EPA is providing an opportunity,
through this notice, for interested
parties to provide risk management
proposals or otherwise comment on risk
management for metam sodium and
metam potassium. Risks of concern
associated with the use of metam
sodium and metam potassium include
E:\FEDREG\02MYN1.LOC
02MYN1
24292
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices
mmaher on DSK3CLS3C1PROD with $$_JOB
bystander and worker risks. A complete
list of the risks and the mitigation
options can be found in the Risk
Mitigation Options Document docket
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125. A
Readers Guide has been created to
provide an organizational structure to
the metam sodium and metam
potassium docket, to allow readers to
more easily access and navigate the
various entries contained in the metam
sodium and metam potassium docket,
and to facilitate public comment. You
may find this guide in docket number
EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125. In targeting
these risks of concern, the Agency
solicits information on effective and
practical risk reduction measures.
EPA is applying the principles of
public participation to all pesticides
undergoing reregistration and tolerance
reassessment. The Agency’s Pesticide
Tolerance Reassessment and
Reregistration; Public Participation
Process, published in the Federal
Register on May 14, 2004, (69 FR
26819)(FRL–7357–9) explains that in
conducting these programs, EPA is
tailoring its public participation process
to be commensurate with the level of
risk, extent of use, complexity of issues,
and degree of public concern associated
with each pesticide. Due to its uses,
risks, and other factors, metam sodium
and metam potassium are being
reviewed through the full 6-Phase
public participation process.
All comments should be submitted
using the methods in ADDRESSES, and
must be received by EPA on or before
the closing date. Comments and
proposals will become part of the
Agency Docket for metam sodium and
metam potassium. Comments received
after the close of the comment period
will be marked ‘‘late’’ EPA is not
required to consider these late
comments.
After considering comments received,
EPA will develop and issue the metam
sodium and metam potassium RED.
B. What is the Agency’s Authority for
Taking this Action?
Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended
directs that, after submission of all data
concerning a pesticide active ingredient,
‘‘the Administrator shall determine
whether pesticides containing such
active ingredient are eligible for
reregistration,’’ before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use
products and either reregistering
products or taking other ‘‘appropriate
regulatory action.’’
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests.
VerDate Mar 15 2010
03:08 Aug 19, 2011
Jkt 223001
Dated: April 25, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and
Reregistration Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. E7–8269 Filed 5–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–S
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0128; FRL–8126–7]
Dazomet Revised Human Health Risk
Assessment; Notice of Availability and
Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
availability and seeks comments on
EPA’s revised human health risk
assessment for the pesticide fumigant
dazomet. In addition, this notice solicits
public comment on the risk reduction
options paper for dazomet and EPA’s
benefits assessments for the soil
fumigants. The Agency is also seeking
comments on the ecological risk
assessment. The public is encouraged to
suggest risk management ideas or
proposals to address the risks identified.
EPA is developing a Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (RED) for dazomet
through the full, 6-Phase public
participation process that the Agency
uses to involve the public in developing
pesticide reregistration and tolerance
reassessment decisions. EPA also is
concurrently assessing the risks of five
other soil fumigant pesticides to ensure
that its assessment approaches are
consistent, and to ensure that risk
tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be
adequately predicted in reaching risk
management decisions. The Agency is
seeking the same input from the public
on these pesticides on a similar
schedule. Through these programs, EPA
is ensuring that all pesticides meet
current health and safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before July 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0128, by
one of the following methods:
<bullet≤ Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet≤ Mail: Office of Pesticide
Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
<bullet≤ Delivery: OPP Regulatory
Public Docket (7502P), Environmental
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Protection Agency, Rm. S–4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S.
Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries
are only accepted during the Docket’s
normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to
4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is (703) 305–
5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–
0128. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the docket
without change and may be made
available on-line at http://
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 Federal regulations.gov
website 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 regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the 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 docket index available
in regulations.gov. To access the
electronic docket, go to http://
www.regulations.gov, select ‘‘Advanced
Search,’’ then ‘‘Docket Search.’’ Insert
the docket ID number where indicated
and select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Follow
the instructions on the regulations.gov
web site to view the docket index or
access available documents. 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,
is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy
E:\FEDREG\02MYN1.LOC
02MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24290-24292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8269]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125; FRL-8127-7]
Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium; Revised Human Health Risk
Assessment, Notice of Availability and Solicitation of Risk Reduction
Options
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability and seeks comments on
EPA's revised human health risk assessment for the pesticide fumigants
metam sodium and metam potassium. In addition, this notice solicits
public comment on the risk reduction options paper for fumigants
including metam sodium and metam potassium and EPA's benefits
assessments for the soil fumigants. The Agency is also seeking comments
on the ecological risk assessment which was not revised since the last
public comment period. The public is encouraged to suggest risk
management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is
developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for metam sodium
and metam potassium through the full, 6-Phase public participation
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing
pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. EPA also
is concurrently assessing the risks of four other soil fumigant
pesticides to ensure that its assessment approaches are consistent, and
to ensure that risk tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be adequately
predicted in reaching risk management decisions. The Agency is seeking
the same input from the public on these pesticides on a similar
schedule. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides
meet current health and safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0125. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://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 Federal regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access''
system, which means EPA will not
[[Page 24291]]
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 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 docket index
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov web
site to view the docket index or access available documents. 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, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available either in the
electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available
in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The
hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Veronique LaCapra, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 605-1525; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: lacapra.veronique@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
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution,
or use of pesticides. Since others also may 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. 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 as 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. 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 your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest 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
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is making available the Agency's revised human health risk
assessment and ecological risk assessment, initially issued for comment
through a Federal Register notice published on July 13, 2005, (70 FR
40333) (FRL-7722-1); a response to comments; and related documents for
metam sodium and metam potassium. EPA also is soliciting public comment
on the risk reduction options paper and benefits assessments for the
soil fumigants. EPA developed the risk assessments for metam sodium and
metam potassium as part of its public process for making pesticide
reregistration eligibility and tolerance reassessment decisions.
Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet current
standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as
amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
Metam sodium and metam potassium are non-selective pre-plant soil
fumigants with fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal
properties. They are registered for use on all food, feed and fiber
crops including turf and ornamentals. Metam sodium's major agricultural
use sites include potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and peanuts.
Metam potassium's major use sites are lettuce, potatoes, onions,
tomatoes, and watermelons. Metam sodium is also registered for use in
orchard replant, on golf course turf, and for small areas of turf and
soil. In addition, metam sodium is used as a root-control agent in
drains and sewers. Metam sodium and metam potassium are also registered
for a variety of antimicrobial and industrial uses. Metam sodium and
metam potassium are converted to methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in the
environment, particularly in the presence of moisture (such as in soil
after application). It is MITC that performs the fumigating activity.
The volatility of metam sodium and metam potassium in the environment,
and results of metabolism studies in plants, assure that there is no
reasonable expectation of finite residues to be incurred in/on any raw
agricultural commodity when the products are applied according to label
directions.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for metam sodium and metam potassium. Risks
of concern associated with the use of metam sodium and metam potassium
include
[[Page 24292]]
bystander and worker risks. A complete list of the risks and the
mitigation options can be found in the Risk Mitigation Options Document
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. A Readers Guide has been created to
provide an organizational structure to the metam sodium and metam
potassium docket, to allow readers to more easily access and navigate
the various entries contained in the metam sodium and metam potassium
docket, and to facilitate public comment. You may find this guide in
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. In targeting these risks of
concern, the Agency solicits information on effective and practical
risk reduction measures.
EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14,
2004, (69 FR 26819)(FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these
programs, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide.
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, metam sodium and metam
potassium are being reviewed through the full 6-Phase public
participation process.
All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES,
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments and
proposals will become part of the Agency Docket for metam sodium and
metam potassium. Comments received after the close of the comment
period will be marked ``late'' EPA is not required to consider these
late comments.
After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the
metam sodium and metam potassium RED.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active
ingredient are eligible for reregistration,'' before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: April 25, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-8269 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
