Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects From Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings; Notice of Availability and Request for Comment, 45796-45798 [2014-18357]

Download as PDF 45796 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 2014 / Notices Enter the docket number, excluding the last three digits, in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. PROHIBITED Docket No. File date 1. CP14–96–000 ....................................... 7–3–14 2. ER14–897–001 ..................................... 3. CP13–113–000 ..................................... 4. EL11–66–000 ....................................... 7–15–14 7–22–14 7–24–14 Presenter or requester Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties, New York, AFL–CIO. Estancia Valley Economic Development Association. MoveOn.org.1 Clearview Energy Partners LLC. EXEMPT Docket No. File date 1. EL14–40–000 ....................................... 2. P–13948–002; P–13994–002 ............... 3. CP14–125–000 ..................................... 4. ER14–2056–000 ................................... 5. ER14–2056–000 ................................... 6. ER14–897–000 ..................................... 7. P–13590–000 ....................................... 8. ER14–897–000 ..................................... 9. CP12–507–000; CP12–508–000 .......... 10. CP13–483–000; CP13–492–000 ........ 11. P–14345–001 ..................................... 12. CP13–499–000; CP13–502–000 ........ 13. CP13–193–000 ................................... 14. CP13–193–000 ................................... 15. CP13–551–000 ................................... 16. CP13–483–000 ................................... 7–10–14 7–10–14 7–14–14 7–14–14 7–15–14 7–15–14 7–15–14 7–15–14 7–14–14 7–17–14 7–22–14 7–22–14 7–22–14 7–23–14 7–23–14 7–28–14 Presenter or requester Hon. Raul Ruiz, M.D. Commission Staff.2 Hon. Mary L. Landrieu. Hon. Pat Toomey. Hon. Chris Collins. State of New Mexico, Commissioner of Public Lands, Ray Powell. Commission Staff.3 Torrance County, New Mexico Commissioners.4 Commission Staff.5 Commission Staff.6 Commission Staff.7 Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand. Members of Congress.8 Hon. Marco Rubio. Members of Congress.9 Commission Staff.10 EPA is currently in the process of determining whether or not lead-based paint hazards are created by renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) activities in public and commercial buildings (P&CBs), as required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is making the following documents available for public review and comment before they undergo external peer review: ‘‘Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings’’ (the Approach); the detailed appendices for the Approach; and a supplementary report, entitled ‘‘Developing a Concentration-Response Function for Pb Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality.’’ Together, these documents describe a methodology for estimating exposures and incremental health SUMMARY: Dated: July 29, 2014. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2014–18532 Filed 8–5–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0173; FRL–9914–12] Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects From Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings; Notice of Availability and Request for Comment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: 1 Thirty-two (32) emailed comments. of July 10, 2014 telephone call with Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1. 3 Summary of June 26, 2014 telephone conversation with Lockhart Power Company regarding May 15, 2014 filing. 4 Lonnie Freyburger, LeRoy Candelaria, and Leanne Tapia. 2 Summary VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:14 Aug 05, 2014 Jkt 232001 5 Meeting summary of July 14, 2014 LNG Engineering Conference Call. 6 Notes from July 16, 2014 bi-weekly telephone conference call with federal cooperating agencies regarding production of environmental impact statement. 7 Record of July 22, 2014 email communication license applicant for Rock River Beach Project. PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 effects created by renovations of P&CBs. This methodology could be used to identify and evaluate hazards from RRP in P&CBs. Also available for public review and comment is a list of charge questions that will be directed to the external peer reviewers for the Approach. Comments must be submitted September 22, 2014. DATES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0173, by one of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. ADDRESSES: 8 Hons. Nydia M. Velazquez and Luis V. Gutierrez. 9 Hons. Rush Holt, Robert Menendez, Cory Booker, and Frank Pallone, Jr. 10 Record of July 24, 2014 Conference Call with Jordon Cove. E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM 06AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 2014 / Notices • Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the instructions at https:// www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html. Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is available at https:// www.epa.gov/dockets. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: Stan Barone, Jr., Risk Assessment Division (7403M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone number (202) 564–1169; email address: barone.stan@epa.gov. For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@ 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 independent contractors and contracting companies involved in renovation, repair, and painting, as well as academics and members of the public interested in environmental and human health assessment and the assessment of chemical risks. Since others also may be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA? 1. Submitting confidential business information (CBI). Do not submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. 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. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:14 Aug 05, 2014 Jkt 232001 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 EPA is currently in the process of determining whether or not lead-based paint hazards are created by RRP activities in P&CBs, as required under TSCA, Subtitle IV (15 U.S.C. 2681 et seq.). For those renovation activities in P&CBs that create lead-based paint hazards, TSCA directs EPA to address the hazards through regulation. EPA recently published in the Federal Register of May 30, 2014 (Ref. 1) a document for public comment, entitled ‘‘Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Lead-Based Paint Hazards from Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings’’ (Ref. 2). This Framework document described, in general terms, how EPA could identify and evaluate hazards in P&CBs. The current document, entitled ‘‘Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings’’ (Ref. 3) describes how EPA is modeling the potential overall magnitude and distribution of renovation-related health effects due to lead exposure from a renovation in a P&CB, taking into account background lead levels when no such renovation exposure occurs. Based on information developed through the Approach, renovationrelated health effects will be estimated PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 45797 as the difference between total health effects (background plus renovationrelated) and background. Exposures from renovation activities that disturb lead-based paint are connected to subsequent health effects in children and adults through modeling. Separate Monte-Carlo based models were constructed for the analysis of exterior renovations of P&CBs and interior renovations of P&CBs. The Monte Carlo analysis is designed to capture potential population-level variability within each exposure scenario and, as such, approximates the potential distribution of effects to the part of the U.S. population who would fall within any scenario. However, the results presented in the Approach are not representative of an overall distribution of the entire U.S. population. All scenarios are not equally likely, and in fact some scenarios may be very unlikely to occur. In the future, EPA plans to estimate how many people may be reasonably expected to be exposed in different scenarios. After further analysis, the full results of the Approach, along with information about how often any scenario is expected to actually occur, will be used to consider whether or not renovation activities in P&CBs create hazards and, if so, what mitigation measures may be appropriate. EPA plans to consider renovation-related dust loadings, blood lead, and health effect changes across exposure scenarios in order to evaluate whether a hazard occurs. A detailed discussion of the additional analyses and considerations that would inform EPA’s process of making a hazard finding, or a finding of no hazard, are contained in the Approach. By itself, the Approach methodology cannot be used to determine whether hazards exist from P&CB renovations. EPA will need to conduct additional analyses and make certain science policy decisions in order to determine whether such hazards exist. EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has identified the Approach as an influential product and according to EPA peer review guidance is conducting an external peer review of that document, supplemental files, appendices (Ref. 4), and attendant models used for exposure scenarios. The external peer reviewers will assess the accuracy and content of the Approach, ensuring that the Approach and initial results are scientifically sound. The external peer review will also address the supplemental documents, which include detailed appendices for the Approach and a supplementary report relating lead exposure to Cardiovascular E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM 06AUN1 45798 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 2014 / Notices Disease (CVD) mortality and proposing an approach to quantify adult health benefits from a reduction in lead (Pb) exposure for CVD mortality, entitled ‘‘Developing a Concentration-Response Function for Pb Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality’’ (Ref. 5). The panel peer review meetings are expected to occur later in 2014, and the public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the materials given to the external peer reviewers. III. Request for Comment EPA is requesting public review and comment on all aspects of the Approach and its supplemental files, appendices, attendant models, peer review charge (Ref. 6), and particularly related to the following: • The utility of the Approach for estimating exposures through summarizing building use configuration types and human-activity patterns to incorporate variability across the wide variety of P&CBs. • The utility of the updated Leggett Model (original model described in Leggett 1993 (Ref. 7); updated model described in the appendices to the Approach (Ref. 4)) to estimate blood lead levels for both children and adults, and specifically the use of the various outputs derived from the Leggett Model (concurrent blood lead, lifetime blood lead, and bone lead) in concentrationresponse curves for children and adults. • The utility of concentrationresponse functions for health endpoints in both children and adults for assessing risk to human health inside P&CBs as a result of P&CB renovations. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES IV. References The following is a listing of the documents that are specifically referenced in this document. The docket includes these documents and other information considered by EPA, including documents that are referenced within the documents that are included in the docket, even if the referenced document is not physically located in the docket. For assistance in locating these other documents, please consult the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 1. EPA. Lead; Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Lead-Based Paint Hazards From Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. Federal Register (79 FR 31072, May 30, 2014) (FRL–9910–44). 2. EPA. Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Lead-Based Paint Hazards From Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. May 2014. Document ID number EPA–HQ–OPPT– 2010–0173–0196. Also available at https:// VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:14 Aug 05, 2014 Jkt 232001 www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014– 05/documents/lead_pncb_framework_ document.pdf. 3. EPA. Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 2014. Docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0173. 4. EPA. Appendices to the Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 2014. Docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0173. 5. EPA. Developing a ConcentrationResponse Function for Pb Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality. July 2014. Docket ID number EPA–HQ– OPPT–2010–0173. 6. EPA. Charge Questions for Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 2014. Docket ID EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0173. 7. Leggett, R.W. An age-specific kinetic model of lead metabolism in humans. Environmental Health Perspectives. 101:598– 616. 1993. List of Subjects Environmental protection, Business and industry, Commercial buildings, Lead, Peer revew, Renovation, Risk assessment. Dated: July 28, 2014. Wendy C. Hamnett, Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. comments within the 30-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrants withdrew their requests. The Agency received comments on the May 20, 2014 Federal Register notice but none merited its further review of the requests. Further, the registrants did not withdraw their requests. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this cancellation order, including any existing stocks provisions. The cancellations are effective August 6, 2014. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John W. Pates, Jr., Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone number: (703) 308–8195; email address: pates.john@epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DATES: I. General Information A. Does this action apply to me? [EPA–HQ–OPP–2009–1017; FRL–9914–09] 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. Product Cancellation Order for Certain Pesticide Registrations B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information? Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. The docket for this action, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–OPP–2009–1017, is available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pesticide Programs Regulatory Public Docket (OPP Docket) in the Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. The 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 OPP Docket is (703) 305–5805. Please review the visitor instructions and additional information about the docket available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets. [FR Doc. 2014–18357 Filed 8–5–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AGENCY: This notice announces EPA’s order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of the products listed in Table 1 of Unit II., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows a May 20, 2014 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Requests from the registrants listed in Table 2 of Unit II. to voluntarily cancel these product registrations. In the May 20, 2014 Federal Register notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations, unless the Agency received substantive SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM 06AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45796-45798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18357]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173; FRL-9914-12]


Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health Effects 
From Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in Public 
and Commercial Buildings; Notice of Availability and Request for 
Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is currently in the process of determining whether or not 
lead-based paint hazards are created by renovation, repair, and 
painting (RRP) activities in public and commercial buildings (P&CBs), 
as required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is 
making the following documents available for public review and comment 
before they undergo external peer review: ``Approach for Estimating 
Exposures and Incremental Health Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, 
Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings'' 
(the Approach); the detailed appendices for the Approach; and a 
supplementary report, entitled ``Developing a Concentration-Response 
Function for Pb Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related 
Mortality.'' Together, these documents describe a methodology for 
estimating exposures and incremental health effects created by 
renovations of P&CBs. This methodology could be used to identify and 
evaluate hazards from RRP in P&CBs. Also available for public review 
and comment is a list of charge questions that will be directed to the 
external peer reviewers for the Approach.

DATES: Comments must be submitted September 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.

[[Page 45797]]

     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Stan Barone, Jr., Risk Assessment Division (7403M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number 
(202) 564-1169; email address: barone.stan@epa.gov.
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@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 independent 
contractors and contracting companies involved in renovation, repair, 
and painting, as well as academics and members of the public interested 
in environmental and human health assessment and the assessment of 
chemical risks. Since others also may be interested, the Agency has not 
attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by 
this action.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting confidential business information (CBI). Do not 
submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. 
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

    EPA is currently in the process of determining whether or not lead-
based paint hazards are created by RRP activities in P&CBs, as required 
under TSCA, Subtitle IV (15 U.S.C. 2681 et seq.). For those renovation 
activities in P&CBs that create lead-based paint hazards, TSCA directs 
EPA to address the hazards through regulation.
    EPA recently published in the Federal Register of May 30, 2014 
(Ref. 1) a document for public comment, entitled ``Framework for 
Identifying and Evaluating Lead-Based Paint Hazards from Renovation, 
Repair, and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings'' 
(Ref. 2). This Framework document described, in general terms, how EPA 
could identify and evaluate hazards in P&CBs.
    The current document, entitled ``Approach for Estimating Exposures 
and Incremental Health Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and 
Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings'' (Ref. 3) 
describes how EPA is modeling the potential overall magnitude and 
distribution of renovation-related health effects due to lead exposure 
from a renovation in a P&CB, taking into account background lead levels 
when no such renovation exposure occurs. Based on information developed 
through the Approach, renovation-related health effects will be 
estimated as the difference between total health effects (background 
plus renovation-related) and background. Exposures from renovation 
activities that disturb lead-based paint are connected to subsequent 
health effects in children and adults through modeling. Separate Monte-
Carlo based models were constructed for the analysis of exterior 
renovations of P&CBs and interior renovations of P&CBs.
    The Monte Carlo analysis is designed to capture potential 
population-level variability within each exposure scenario and, as 
such, approximates the potential distribution of effects to the part of 
the U.S. population who would fall within any scenario. However, the 
results presented in the Approach are not representative of an overall 
distribution of the entire U.S. population. All scenarios are not 
equally likely, and in fact some scenarios may be very unlikely to 
occur. In the future, EPA plans to estimate how many people may be 
reasonably expected to be exposed in different scenarios.
    After further analysis, the full results of the Approach, along 
with information about how often any scenario is expected to actually 
occur, will be used to consider whether or not renovation activities in 
P&CBs create hazards and, if so, what mitigation measures may be 
appropriate. EPA plans to consider renovation-related dust loadings, 
blood lead, and health effect changes across exposure scenarios in 
order to evaluate whether a hazard occurs. A detailed discussion of the 
additional analyses and considerations that would inform EPA's process 
of making a hazard finding, or a finding of no hazard, are contained in 
the Approach. By itself, the Approach methodology cannot be used to 
determine whether hazards exist from P&CB renovations. EPA will need to 
conduct additional analyses and make certain science policy decisions 
in order to determine whether such hazards exist.
    EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has 
identified the Approach as an influential product and according to EPA 
peer review guidance is conducting an external peer review of that 
document, supplemental files, appendices (Ref. 4), and attendant models 
used for exposure scenarios. The external peer reviewers will assess 
the accuracy and content of the Approach, ensuring that the Approach 
and initial results are scientifically sound. The external peer review 
will also address the supplemental documents, which include detailed 
appendices for the Approach and a supplementary report relating lead 
exposure to Cardiovascular

[[Page 45798]]

Disease (CVD) mortality and proposing an approach to quantify adult 
health benefits from a reduction in lead (Pb) exposure for CVD 
mortality, entitled ``Developing a Concentration-Response Function for 
Pb Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality'' (Ref. 5). 
The panel peer review meetings are expected to occur later in 2014, and 
the public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the 
materials given to the external peer reviewers.

III. Request for Comment

    EPA is requesting public review and comment on all aspects of the 
Approach and its supplemental files, appendices, attendant models, peer 
review charge (Ref. 6), and particularly related to the following:
     The utility of the Approach for estimating exposures 
through summarizing building use configuration types and human-activity 
patterns to incorporate variability across the wide variety of P&CBs.
     The utility of the updated Leggett Model (original model 
described in Leggett 1993 (Ref. 7); updated model described in the 
appendices to the Approach (Ref. 4)) to estimate blood lead levels for 
both children and adults, and specifically the use of the various 
outputs derived from the Leggett Model (concurrent blood lead, lifetime 
blood lead, and bone lead) in concentration-response curves for 
children and adults.
     The utility of concentration-response functions for health 
endpoints in both children and adults for assessing risk to human 
health inside P&CBs as a result of P&CB renovations.

IV. References

    The following is a listing of the documents that are specifically 
referenced in this document. The docket includes these documents and 
other information considered by EPA, including documents that are 
referenced within the documents that are included in the docket, even 
if the referenced document is not physically located in the docket. For 
assistance in locating these other documents, please consult the 
technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    1. EPA. Lead; Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Lead-
Based Paint Hazards From Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities 
in Public and Commercial Buildings. Federal Register (79 FR 31072, 
May 30, 2014) (FRL-9910-44).
    2. EPA. Framework for Identifying and Evaluating Lead-Based 
Paint Hazards From Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities in 
Public and Commercial Buildings. May 2014. Document ID number EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2010-0173-0196. Also available at https://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-05/documents/lead_pncb_framework_document.pdf.
    3. EPA. Approach for Estimating Exposures and Incremental Health 
Effects from Lead Due to Renovation, Repair, and Painting Activities 
in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 2014. Docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OPPT-2010-0173.
    4. EPA. Appendices to the Approach for Estimating Exposures and 
Incremental Health Effects from Lead due to Renovation, Repair, and 
Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 2014. 
Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173.
    5. EPA. Developing a Concentration-Response Function for Pb 
Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality. July 2014. 
Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173.
    6. EPA. Charge Questions for Approach for Estimating Exposures 
and Incremental Health Effects from Lead due to Renovation, Repair, 
and Painting Activities in Public and Commercial Buildings. July 
2014. Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0173.
    7. Leggett, R.W. An age-specific kinetic model of lead 
metabolism in humans. Environmental Health Perspectives. 101:598-
616. 1993.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Business and industry, Commercial 
buildings, Lead, Peer revew, Renovation, Risk assessment.

    Dated: July 28, 2014.
Wendy C. Hamnett,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 2014-18357 Filed 8-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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