Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals; Draft Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act; Notice of Availability, Webinar and Request for Comment, 26878-26879 [2024-08024]

Download as PDF 26878 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 16, 2024 / Notices March 6, 2024. This approval pertains to the construction and operation of the Oak Creek Travel Center (Source), a gasoline dispensing facility, to be located on the Fort Independence Indian Reservation, in Independence, California. The EPA issued the approval pursuant to the provisions of Clean Air Act sections 110(a) and 301(d) and the EPA’s Tribal Minor NSR Program at 40 CFR 49.151–49.164. The EPA based its approval on its determination that the Source meets the criteria qualifying it for coverage and that the Source is eligible for coverage under the Gasoline Dispensing Facility General Permit. The EPA’s Clean Air Act approval for the Source is a final agency action for purposes of judicial review only for the issue of whether the Source qualifies for coverage under the Gasoline Dispensing Facility General Permit. 40 CFR 49.156(e)(6). Dated: April 9, 2024. Martha Guzman Aceves, Regional Administrator, Region IX. [FR Doc. 2024–07957 Filed 4–15–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OPPT–2021–0254; FRL–9347–06– OCSPP] Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals; Draft Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act; Notice of Availability, Webinar and Request for Comment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is announcing the availability of and seeking public comment on a draft document titled ‘‘Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos’’ and is announcing a webinar on May 13, 2024. EPA is evaluating legacy uses and associated disposals of asbestos including chrysotile asbestos, five additional fiber types, asbestoscontaining talc, and Libby asbestos. EPA has used the best available science to preliminarily determine that asbestos khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: Program on May 1, 2019, and the permit became effective June 12, 2019. 84 FR 20879 (May 13, 2019). This permit is available at https:// www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/air-permits-gasstations-tribal-lands-california. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:09 Apr 15, 2024 Jkt 262001 poses unreasonable risk to human health. DATES: Webinar: May 13, 2024, 3–4 p.m. EST. To receive the webcast meeting link and audio teleconference information before the meeting, you must register by 12 p.m. on April 25, 2024. To allow EPA time to process your request for special accommodations before the webinar, please submit your request to EPA by 5 p.m. EST on May 6, 2024. Written comments: Submit your comments on or before June 17, 2024. ADDRESSES: Webinar: Register online at https:// usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/ vJItfmgrjotGpHKg8v4EMI8cejAiOoZWbI. Special accommodations: Please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Written comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– OPPT–2021–0254, online at https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 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 webinar information: Chloe Durand, Project Management and Operations Division (7407M), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1201 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004; telephone number: (202) 564–8820; email address: durand.chloe@epa.gov. For technical information: Peter Gimlin, Existing Chemical Risk Management Division (7404M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone number: (202) 566–0515; email address: gimlin.peter@ epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Executive Summary A. Does this action apply to me? This action is directed to the public in general and may be of particular interest to those involved in the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, and disposal of asbestos,-containing materials (ACMs) including construction professionals and PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 individuals completing do-it-yourself (DIY) activities in buildings with ACMs, related industry trade organizations, non-governmental organizations with an interest in human and environmental health, state and local governments, Tribal Nations, and/or those interested in the assessment of risks involving chemical substances and mixtures regulated under TSCA. As such, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that this action might apply to. If you need help determining applicability, consult the technical contact listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. B. What is the Agency’s authority for taking this action? The draft risk evaluation is issued pursuant to TSCA section 6, 15 U.S.C. 2605, which requires that EPA conduct risk evaluations on chemical substances and identifies the minimum components EPA must include in all chemical substance risk evaluations. Each risk evaluation must be conducted consistent with the best available science, be based on the weight of the scientific evidence, and consider reasonably available information. 15 U.S.C. 2625(h), (i), and (k). C. What action is the Agency taking? The Agency is announcing the availability of and soliciting comment on the document titled ‘‘Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos,’’ which is available in the docket. EPA is also announcing a stakeholder engagement opportunity through a webinar where EPA will give an informational presentation on the document. For more information about the TSCA risk evaluation process, which is the second phase of the EPA three phase process for ensuring the safety of existing chemicals, go to https:// www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managingchemicals-under-tsca/how-epaevaluates-safety-existing-chemicals. D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments? 1. Submitting CBI Do not submit CBI to EPA through https://www.regulations.gov or email. If you wish to include CBI in your comment, please follow the applicable instructions at https://www.epa.gov/ dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules and clearly mark the information that you claim to be CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM 16APN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 16, 2024 / Notices accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR parts 2 and 703, as applicable. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES 2. Tips for preparing your comments When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ commenting-epa-dockets. II. Background When EPA designated asbestos as one of the first 10 existing chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under TSCA, as amended in 2016, the risk evaluation focused on chrysotile asbestos, the only type of asbestos fiber where manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce for use was known, intended, or reasonably foreseen in the U.S. In Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, 943 F.3d 397 (9th Cir. 2019) the court held that EPA’s Risk Evaluation Procedural Rule (82 FR 33726, July 20, 2017 (FRL–9964–38)) should not have excluded ‘‘legacy uses’’ (i.e., uses without ongoing or prospective manufacturing, processing, or distribution) and ‘‘associated disposals’’ (i.e., future disposal of legacy uses) from the definition of conditions of use. As a result, the risk evaluation for asbestos was split into two parts. 1. Asbestos (Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos). The final risk evaluation for Asbestos (Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos) was released in January 2021 (86 FR 89, January 4, 2021; FRL–10017–43), covering all intended, known, or reasonably foreseen import, processing, and distribution of chrysotile asbestos; uses of chrysotile asbestos that have been imported, processed, and distributed; and disposal of such chrysotile asbestos uses. The final rule to address the unreasonable risk identified in the Asbestos Part 1 risk evaluation was issued in March 2024 (89 FR 21970, March 28, 2024; FRL– 8332–01–OCSPP). 2. Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos. Legacy uses and associated disposals of chrysotile asbestos, 5 additional fiber types, asbestos-containing talc, and Libby asbestos are the subject of the ‘‘Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos’’ (also referred to as the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation), which is scheduled to be finalized on or before December 1, 2024, per the consent decree in the case Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization et al v. Regan et al, 4:21- cv-03716 (N.D. Cal.). In the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation, EPA preliminarily VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:09 Apr 15, 2024 Jkt 262001 concludes that asbestos, as a chemical substance and as evaluated in part 1 and part 2 of the risk evaluation, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health under its conditions of use. This single unreasonable risk determination for asbestos would replace the previous unreasonable risk determinations made for asbestos by individual conditions of use and supersede the determinations (and withdraw the associated order) of no unreasonable risk for the conditions of use identified in the TSCA section 6(i)(1) no unreasonable risk order. This draft determination does not alter any of the underlying technical or scientific information that informs the risk characterization in part 1, and as such the hazard, exposure, and risk characterization sections of part 1 are not changed by this revision. III. Request for Public Comment EPA seeks feedback on the assessment of risk for asbestos as presented in the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation and welcomes specific input on each section of the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation. EPA is also seeking input on the take-home exposure scenarios, as well as the non-cancer endpoints used to characterize risk. EPA also specifically seeks public comment on the draft single risk determination for asbestos where the Agency intends to determine that asbestos, as a chemical substance, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health when evaluated under its conditions of use. However, EPA is not requesting public comment on the hazard, exposure, or risk characterization sections of part 1, as those sections remain unchanged. EPA encourages all potentially interested parties, including individuals, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, research institutions, and private sector entities to comment on the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation. To the extent possible, the Agency asks commenters to please cite any public data related to or that supports responses, and to the extent permissible, describe any supporting data that is not publicly available. Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. Dated: April 9, 2024. Michal Freedhoff, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. [FR Doc. 2024–08024 Filed 4–15–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 26879 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OLEM–2020–0527; FRL–11611–01 OLEM] Interim PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance; Notice of Availability for Public Comment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of availability for public comment. AGENCY: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020 NDAA) was signed into law on December 19, 2019. Section 7361 of the FY 2020 NDAA directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and materials containing PFAS and to update the guidance at least every three years, as appropriate. The EPA is releasing an update to the December 20, 2020, interim guidance for public comment. The updated guidance builds on information pertaining to technologies that may be feasible and appropriate for the destruction or disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials. The 2024 interim guidance also identifies key data gaps and uncertainties that must be resolved before the EPA can issue more definitive recommendations about PFAS destruction and disposal technologies. DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 15, 2024. ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– OLEM–2020–0527, by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, OLEM Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. • Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except Federal Holidays). Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to https:// www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided. For SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM 16APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26878-26879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08024]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0254; FRL-9347-06-OCSPP]


Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and 
Associated Disposals; Draft Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances 
Control Act; Notice of Availability, Webinar and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is 
announcing the availability of and seeking public comment on a draft 
document titled ``Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: 
Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals 
of Asbestos'' and is announcing a webinar on May 13, 2024. EPA is 
evaluating legacy uses and associated disposals of asbestos including 
chrysotile asbestos, five additional fiber types, asbestos-containing 
talc, and Libby asbestos. EPA has used the best available science to 
preliminarily determine that asbestos poses unreasonable risk to human 
health.

DATES: 
    Webinar: May 13, 2024, 3-4 p.m. EST. To receive the webcast meeting 
link and audio teleconference information before the meeting, you must 
register by 12 p.m. on April 25, 2024. To allow EPA time to process 
your request for special accommodations before the webinar, please 
submit your request to EPA by 5 p.m. EST on May 6, 2024.
    Written comments: Submit your comments on or before June 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Webinar: Register online at https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItf-mgrjotGpHKg8v4EMI8cejAiOoZWbI.
    Special accommodations: Please contact the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Written comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0254, online at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. 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 webinar information: Chloe Durand, Project Management and 
Operations Division (7407M), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1201 Constitution Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20004; telephone number: (202) 564-8820; email address: 
[email protected].
    For technical information: Peter Gimlin, Existing Chemical Risk 
Management Division (7404M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 566-0515; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Executive Summary

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general and may be of 
particular interest to those involved in the manufacture, processing, 
distribution, use, and disposal of asbestos,-containing materials 
(ACMs) including construction professionals and individuals completing 
do-it-yourself (DIY) activities in buildings with ACMs, related 
industry trade organizations, non-governmental organizations with an 
interest in human and environmental health, state and local 
governments, Tribal Nations, and/or those interested in the assessment 
of risks involving chemical substances and mixtures regulated under 
TSCA. As such, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the 
specific entities that this action might apply to. If you need help 
determining applicability, consult the technical contact listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    The draft risk evaluation is issued pursuant to TSCA section 6, 15 
U.S.C. 2605, which requires that EPA conduct risk evaluations on 
chemical substances and identifies the minimum components EPA must 
include in all chemical substance risk evaluations. Each risk 
evaluation must be conducted consistent with the best available 
science, be based on the weight of the scientific evidence, and 
consider reasonably available information. 15 U.S.C. 2625(h), (i), and 
(k).

C. What action is the Agency taking?

    The Agency is announcing the availability of and soliciting comment 
on the document titled ``Draft Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: 
Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals 
of Asbestos,'' which is available in the docket. EPA is also announcing 
a stakeholder engagement opportunity through a webinar where EPA will 
give an informational presentation on the document.
    For more information about the TSCA risk evaluation process, which 
is the second phase of the EPA three phase process for ensuring the 
safety of existing chemicals, go to https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/how-epa-evaluates-safety-existing-chemicals.

D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments?

1. Submitting CBI
    Do not submit CBI to EPA through https://www.regulations.gov or 
email. If you wish to include CBI in your comment, please follow the 
applicable instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules and clearly mark the information that you claim to be 
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in

[[Page 26879]]

accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR parts 2 and 703, as 
applicable.
2. Tips for preparing your comments
    When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting 
tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

II. Background

    When EPA designated asbestos as one of the first 10 existing 
chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under TSCA, as amended in 2016, 
the risk evaluation focused on chrysotile asbestos, the only type of 
asbestos fiber where manufacture (including import), processing, and 
distribution in commerce for use was known, intended, or reasonably 
foreseen in the U.S. In Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, 943 
F.3d 397 (9th Cir. 2019) the court held that EPA's Risk Evaluation 
Procedural Rule (82 FR 33726, July 20, 2017 (FRL-9964-38)) should not 
have excluded ``legacy uses'' (i.e., uses without ongoing or 
prospective manufacturing, processing, or distribution) and 
``associated disposals'' (i.e., future disposal of legacy uses) from 
the definition of conditions of use. As a result, the risk evaluation 
for asbestos was split into two parts.
    1. Asbestos (Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos). The final risk 
evaluation for Asbestos (Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos) was released in 
January 2021 (86 FR 89, January 4, 2021; FRL-10017-43), covering all 
intended, known, or reasonably foreseen import, processing, and 
distribution of chrysotile asbestos; uses of chrysotile asbestos that 
have been imported, processed, and distributed; and disposal of such 
chrysotile asbestos uses. The final rule to address the unreasonable 
risk identified in the Asbestos Part 1 risk evaluation was issued in 
March 2024 (89 FR 21970, March 28, 2024; FRL-8332-01-OCSPP).
    2. Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses 
and Associated Disposals of Asbestos. Legacy uses and associated 
disposals of chrysotile asbestos, 5 additional fiber types, asbestos-
containing talc, and Libby asbestos are the subject of the ``Draft Risk 
Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including 
Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos'' (also referred to as 
the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation), which is scheduled to be 
finalized on or before December 1, 2024, per the consent decree in the 
case Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization et al v. Regan et al, 
4:21- cv-03716 (N.D. Cal.).
    In the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation, EPA preliminarily 
concludes that asbestos, as a chemical substance and as evaluated in 
part 1 and part 2 of the risk evaluation, presents an unreasonable risk 
of injury to health under its conditions of use. This single 
unreasonable risk determination for asbestos would replace the previous 
unreasonable risk determinations made for asbestos by individual 
conditions of use and supersede the determinations (and withdraw the 
associated order) of no unreasonable risk for the conditions of use 
identified in the TSCA section 6(i)(1) no unreasonable risk order. This 
draft determination does not alter any of the underlying technical or 
scientific information that informs the risk characterization in part 
1, and as such the hazard, exposure, and risk characterization sections 
of part 1 are not changed by this revision.

III. Request for Public Comment

    EPA seeks feedback on the assessment of risk for asbestos as 
presented in the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk Evaluation and welcomes 
specific input on each section of the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk 
Evaluation. EPA is also seeking input on the take-home exposure 
scenarios, as well as the non-cancer endpoints used to characterize 
risk. EPA also specifically seeks public comment on the draft single 
risk determination for asbestos where the Agency intends to determine 
that asbestos, as a chemical substance, presents an unreasonable risk 
of injury to health when evaluated under its conditions of use. 
However, EPA is not requesting public comment on the hazard, exposure, 
or risk characterization sections of part 1, as those sections remain 
unchanged.
    EPA encourages all potentially interested parties, including 
individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations, non-
profit organizations, academic institutions, research institutions, and 
private sector entities to comment on the Asbestos Part 2 Draft Risk 
Evaluation.
    To the extent possible, the Agency asks commenters to please cite 
any public data related to or that supports responses, and to the 
extent permissible, describe any supporting data that is not publicly 
available.
    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.

    Dated: April 9, 2024.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-08024 Filed 4-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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