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[Federal Register: June 2, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 105)]
[Notices]               
[Page 30825-30827]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jn10-73]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9157-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0396]

 
Draft Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde in Support of Summary 
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period and listening session.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 90-day public comment period and a public 
listening session for the external review draft human health assessment 
titled, ``Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde Inhalation Assessment: 
In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-10/002C). The draft assessment was prepared 
by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the 
EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA is releasing this 
draft assessment solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer 
review under applicable information quality guidelines. This draft 
assessment has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not 
represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or 
determination. A committee of the National Research Council, acting 
under the auspices of National Academy of Sciences (NAS), will conduct 
an independent scientific peer review of the EPA draft human health 
assessment of formaldehyde. The peer review committee will hold 
meetings, some of which may involve public sessions. Public sessions 
will be announced before each meeting on the National Academies Web 
site (http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49207). 
The public comment period and NAS scientific peer review are separate 
processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to 
comment on the assessment. Due to the timing of the NAS peer review 
meetings, one or more NAS meetings may take place before the close of 
EPA's public comment period (see DATES below). For NAS meetings that 
occur during the public comment period, EPA will provide all public

[[Page 30826]]

comments to the NAS at least 5 working days before the meeting date 
announced on the National Academies website. All comments provided to 
the EPA during the public comment period will inform the Agency's 
revision of the draft assessment.
    An EPA listening session will be held on July 27, during the public 
comment period for this draft assessment. The purpose of the listening 
session is to allow all interested parties to present scientific and 
technical comments on draft IRIS health assessments to EPA and other 
interested parties attending the listening session. EPA welcomes the 
comments that will be provided to the Agency by the listening session 
participants. The comments will be considered by the Agency as it 
revises the draft assessment after the NAS external peer review. If 
listening session participants wish EPA to share their comments with 
the peer review committee before their meeting, they should also submit 
written comments at least 5 working days before the meeting date 
announced on the National Academies website, using the detailed and 
established procedures described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this notice.

DATES: The public comment period begins June 2, 2010, and ends August 
31, 2010. Comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by 
August 31, 2010.
    The listening session on the draft assessment for formaldehyde will 
be held on July 27, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m., Eastern 
Daylight Time. Interested parties who wish to attend the listening 
session should register no later than July 20. If you wish to present 
at the listening session, indicate in your registration that you would 
like to present oral comments and provide the length of your 
presentation. To register send an e-mail to 
IRISListeningSession@epa.gov (subject line: Formaldehyde Listening 
Session); call Christine Ross at 703-347-8592; or fax a registration 
request to 703-347-8689. Please reference the ``Formaldehyde Listening 
Session'' and include your name, title, affiliation, full address and 
contact information. Indicate if you will need audio-visual equipment 
(e.g., laptop computer and slide projector). In general, each 
presentation should be no more than 30 minutes. If, however, there are 
more requests for presentations than the allotted time allows, then the 
time limit for each presentation will be adjusted. A copy of the agenda 
for the listening session will be available at the meeting. If no 
speakers have registered by July 20, the listening session will be 
cancelled, and EPA will notify those registered of the cancellation.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde Inhalation 
Assessment: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk 
Information System (IRIS)'' is available primarily via the Internet on 
the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available 
from the Information Management Team (Address: Information Management 
Team, National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-
8691). If you request a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing 
address, and the draft assessment title.
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by e-mail, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand 
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
    The listening session on the draft assessment for formaldehyde will 
be held at the EPA offices at Potomac Yard North Building, N-4830, 2733 
South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Please note that to 
gain entrance to this EPA building to attend the Formaldehyde Listening 
Session, you must have photo identification and must register at the 
guard's desk in the lobby. The guard will retain your photo 
identification and will provide you with a visitor's badge. At the 
guard's desk, you should provide the name Christine Ross and the 
telephone number 703-347-8592 to the guard on duty. The guard will 
contact Ms. Ross who will meet you in the reception area to escort you 
to the meeting room. When you leave the building, please return your 
visitor's badge to the guard and you will receive your photo 
identification.
    A teleconference line will also be available for registered 
attendees/speakers. The teleconference number is 866-299-3188, and the 
access code is 926-378-7897, followed by the pound sign (). 
The teleconference line will be activated at 8:45 a.m., and you will be 
asked to identify yourself and your affiliation at the beginning of the 
call.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA 
welcomes public attendance at the Formaldehyde Listening Session and 
will make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities. For 
information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, 
please contact Christine Ross by phone at 703-347-8592 or by e-mail at 
IRISListeningSession@epa.gov. To request accommodation for a 
disability, please contact Ms. Ross, preferably at least 10 days prior 
to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.
    Additional Information: For information on the docket, 
www.regulations.gov, or the public comment period, please contact the 
Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; 
or e-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
    For information on the Formaldehyde Listening Session, please 
contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (Mail Code: 8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-
347-8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: 
IRISListeningSession@epa.gov.
    For information on the draft assessment, please contact John 
Whalan, National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code: 
8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703- 347-8639; facsimile: 703-
347-8689; or e-mail: FRN_Questions@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About IRIS

    EPA's IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates 
quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that may 
result from exposure to chemical substances found in the environment. 
Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest quality science-
based human health assessments to support the Agency's regulatory 
activities. The IRIS database contains information for more than 540 
chemical substances that can be used to support the first two steps 
(hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk 
assessment process. When supported by available data, IRIS provides 
oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference concentrations 
(RfCs) for chronic noncancer health effects and cancer assessments. 
Combined with specific exposure information, government and private 
entities use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical 
substances in a site-specific

[[Page 30827]]

situation and thereby support risk management decisions designed to 
protect public health.

II. How to Submit Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-
0396, by one of the following methods:
    http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
      Facsimile: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The telephone number is 
202-566-1752. If you provide comments by mail, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Deliveries are only accepted during the 
Public Reading Room's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. If you 
provide comments by hand delivery, please submit one unbound original 
with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of the comments. 
For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the 
comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2010-0396. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless comments include information claimed to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or 
otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 
http://www.regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means that EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comments. If you send e-mail 
comments directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comments that are placed in the public 
docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit electronic 
comments, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comments and with any disk or CD-ROM 
you submit. If EPA cannot read your comments due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be 
able to consider your comments. Electronic files should avoid the use 
of special characters and any form of encryption and be free of any 
defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: May 25, 2010.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-13097 Filed 6-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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