69134 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 15, 2000 / Notices

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPPTS–41052; FRL–6087–8]

Forty-Fourth Report of the TSCA

Interagency Testing Committee to the

Administrator; Receipt of Report and

Request for Comments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Toxic Substances Control

Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing

Committee (ITC) transmitted its FortyFourth Report to the Administrator of

the EPA on May 27, 1999. In the 44th

Report, which is included with this

notice, the ITC initiated a process to

identify chemicals with production

volumes greater than 10,000 pounds per

year that are predicted to

bioconcentrate, persist, and cause

ecological or human health effects. To

date the process has identified more

than 400 chemicals.

At this time, the ITC is implementing

the process and has no revisions to its

TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List.

EPA invites interested persons to submit

written comments on the Report.

DATES: Comments, identified by docket

control number OPPTS–41052, must be

received on or before December 15,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted by mail, electronically, or in

person. Please follow the detailed

instructions for each method as

provided in Unit I. of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative

that you identify docket control number

OPPTS–41052 in the subject line on the

first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information contact: Barbara

Cunningham, Acting Director,

Environmental Assistance Division

(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention

and Toxics, Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460; telephone

numbers: (202) 554–1404; e-mail

address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

For technical information contact:

John D. Walker, ITC Executive Director

(7401), Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460; telephone

number: (202) 260–1825; fax: (202) 260–

7895; e-mail address:

walker.johnd@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This notice is directed to the public

in general. It may, however, be of

particular interest to you if you

manufacture (defined by statute to

include import) and/or process TSCAcovered chemicals and you may be

identified by the North American

Industrial Classification System

(NAICS) codes 325 and 32411. Because

this notice is directed to the general

public and other entities may also be

interested , the Agency has not

attempted to describe all the specific

entities that may be interested in this

action. If you have any questions

regarding the applicability of this action

to a particular entity, consult the

technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document or Other Related Documents?

1. Electronically. You may obtain

electronic copies of this document, and

certain other related documents that

might be available electronically, from

the EPA Internet Home Page at http://

www.epa.gov/. To access this document,

on the Home Page select ‘‘Laws and

Regulations,’’ ‘‘Regulations and

Proposed Rules,’’ and then look up the

entry for this document under the

‘‘Federal Register—Environmental

Documents.’’ You can also go directly to

the Federal Register listings at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

You may also access additional

information about the ITC and the TSCA

testing program through the web site for

the Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics (OPPT) at http://www.epa.gov/

opptintr/, or go directly to the ITC home

page at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc/

.

2. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

action under docket control number

OPPTS–41052. The official record

consists of the documents specifically

referenced in this action, any public

comments received during an applicable

comment period, and other information

related to this action, including any

information claimed as Confidential

Business Information (CBI). This official

record includes the documents that are

physically located in the docket, as well

as the documents that are referenced in

those documents. The public version of

the official record does not include any

information claimed as CBI. The public

version of the official record, which

includes printed, paper versions of any

electronic comments submitted during

an applicable comment period, is

available for inspection in the TSCA

Nonconfidential Information Center,

North East Mall Rm. B–607, Waterside

Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.

The Center is open from noon to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The telephone number for the

Center is (202) 260–7099.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit

Comments?

You may submit comments through

the mail, in person, or electronically. To

ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is

imperative that you identify docket

control number OPPTS–41052 in the

subject line on the first page of your

response.

1. By mail. Submit your comments to:

Document Control Office (7407), Office

of Pollution Prevention and Toxics

(OPPT), Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460.

2. In person or by courier. Deliver

your comments to: OPPT Document

Control Office (DCO) in East Tower Rm.

G–099, Waterside Mall, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC. The DCO is open from

8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The

telephone number for the DCO is (202)

260–7093.

3. Electronically. You may submit

your comments electronically by e-mail

to: oppt.ncic@epa.gov, or mail your

computer disk to the address identified

above. Do not submit any information

electronically that you consider to be

CBI. Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Comments and data will

also be accepted on standard disks in

WordPerfect 6.1/8.0 or ASCII file

format. All comments in electronic form

must be identified by docket control

number OPPTS–41052. Electronic

comments may also be filed online at

many Federal Depository Libraries.

D. How Should I Handle CBI

Information That I Want to Submit to

the Agency?

Do not submit any information

electronically that you consider to be

CBI. You may claim information that

you submit to EPA in response to this

document as CBI by marking any part or

all of that information as CBI.

Information so marked will not be

disclosed except in accordance with

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

In addition to one complete version of

the comment that includes any

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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 15, 2000 / Notices 69135

version of the official record.

Information not marked confidential

will be included in the public version

of the official record without prior

notice. If you have any questions about

CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI,

please consult the technical person

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT.

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare

My Comments for EPA?

We invite you to provide your views

and comments on the ITC 44th Report.

You may find the following suggestions

helpful for preparing your comments:

1. Explain your views as clearly as

possible.

2. Describe any assumptions that you

used.

3. Provide copies of any technical

information and/or data you used that

support your views.

4. Provide specific examples to

illustrate your concerns.

5. Make sure to submit your

comments by the deadline in this

notice.

6. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,

be sure to identify the docket control

number assigned to this action in the

subject line on the first page of your

response. You may also provide the

name, date, and Federal Register

citation.

II. Background

The Toxic Substances Control Act

(TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 260l et seq.)

authorizes the Administrator of the EPA

to promulgate regulations under section

4(a) requiring testing of chemicals and

chemical groups in order to develop

data relevant to determining the risks

that such chemicals and chemical

groups may present to health or the

environment. Section 4(e) of TSCA

established the ITC to recommend

chemicals and chemical groups to the

Administrator of the EPA for priority

testing consideration. Section 4(e) of

TSCA directs the ITC to revise the TSCA

section 4(e) Priority Testing List at least

every 6 months.

A. The ITC’s 44th Report

The 44th Report was received by the

EPA Administrator on May 27, 1999,

and is included in this notice. In the

44th Report, the ITC stated that it had

initiated a process to identify chemicals

with production/importation volumes

greater than 10,000 pounds per year that

are predicted to bioconcentrate, persist,

and cause ecological or human health

effects. According to the ITC report,

more than 400 chemicals have been

identified.

B. Status of the Priority Testing List

At this time, the ITC is implementing

the process and has no revisions to its

TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List.

The current TSCA section 4(e) Priority

Testing List as of May 1999 can be found

in Table 1 of the 44th ITC Report which

is included in this notice.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Chemicals,

Hazardous substances.

Dated: November 6, 2000.

Wardner G. Penberthy,

Acting Director, Chemical Control Division,

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

Forty-Fourth Report of the TSCA

Interagency Testing Committee to the

Administrator, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency

This is the 44th Report of the TSCA

Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) to the

Administrator of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA). The ITC was

established by section 4(e) of the Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA) ‘‘to make

recommendations to the Administrator

respecting the chemical substances and

mixtures to which the Administrator should

give priority consideration for the

promulgation of a rule for testing under

section 4(a).... At least every six months...,

the Committee shall make such revisions to

the Priority Testing List as it determines to be

necessary and transmit them to the

Administrator together with the Committee’s

reasons for the revisions’’ (Public Law 94–

469, 90 Stat. 2003 et seq. (15 U.S.C. 2601 et

seq.)). Since its creation in 1976, the ITC has

submitted 43 semi-annual (May and

November) Reports to the EPA Administrator

transmitting the Priority Testing List and its

revisions. In 1989, the ITC began

recommending chemical substances for

information reporting, screening, and testing

to meet the data needs of its member U.S.

Government organizations. ITC Reports are

available from http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/

itc within a few days of submission to the

Administrator and from http://www.epa.gov/

fedrgstr after publication in the Federal

Register. The ITC meets monthly and

produces its revisions to the Priority Testing

List with administrative and technical

support from the ITC staff and contract

support provided by EPA. ITC members and

staff are listed at the end of this Report.

During this reporting period (November

1998 to May 1999), the ITC began developing

a process to identify chemicals with

production or importation volumes >10,000

lb/year that are predicted to bioconcentrate,

persist, and cause ecological or human health

effects. To date, the process has been used to

identify more than 400 chemicals with

production or importation volumes >10,000

lb/year with log octanol-water partition

coefficients and aerobic biodegradation

removal rates that suggest bioconcentration

and persistence potential. In addition, the

process is being used to:

1. Organize chemicals into structurally

related chemical classes for the purpose of

developing structure activity relationships

(SARs).

2. Characterize the type, quantity, and

quality of ecological or human health effects

data associated with each chemical.

3. Determine uses.

4. Estimate potential environmental

releases and human exposures.

5. Evaluate existing regulations.

6. Identify U.S. Government data needs.

This process supports EPA’s current High

Production Volume (HPV) Chemical

Challenge program (http://www.epa.gov/

opptintr/chemrtk/volchall.htm) and

Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics (PBT)

project (http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/

chemrtk/persbioa.htm). At this time, the ITC

is implementing this process and has no

revisions to its TSCA section 4(e) Priority

Testing List which follows as Table 1.

TABLE 1.—THE TSCA SECTION 4(E) PRIORITY TESTING LIST(MAY 1999)1

Report Date Chemical/group Action

26 May 1990 8 Isocyanates Recommended with intent-to-designate

27 November 1990 62 Aldehydes Recommended with intent-to-designate

28 May 1991 Chemicals with low confidence reference dose (RfD) Designated

Acetone

Thiophenol

30 May 1992 5 Siloxanes Recommended

31 January 1993 24 Chemicals with insufficient dermal absorption rate data Designated

32 May 1993 32 Chemicals with insufficient dermal absorption rate data Designated

35 November 1994 24 Chemicals with insufficient dermal absorption rate data Designated

37 November 1995 16 Alkylphenols and 3 alkylphenol polyethoxylates2 Recommended

39 November 1996 15 Nonylphenol ethoxylates and 8 alkylphenol

polyethoxylates2

Recommended

69136 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 15, 2000 / Notices

TABLE 1.—THE TSCA SECTION 4(E) PRIORITY TESTING LIST(MAY 1999)1—Continued

Report Date Chemical/group Action

41 November 1997 18 Alkylphenols, 5 polyalkyphenols, and 6 alkylphenol

polyethoxylates2

Recommended

42 May 1998 3-Amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole2 Recommended

42 May 1998 Glycoluril2 Recommended

42 May 1998 Methylal2 Recommended

42 May 1998 Ethyl silicate2 Recommended

1 The Priority Testing List is available from the ITC’s web site (http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc).

2 Data requested through the ITC’s Voluntary Information Submissions Innovative Online Network (VISION) (see http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/

itc/vision.htm).

TSCA Interagency Testing Committee

Statutory Organizations and Their

Representatives

Council on Environmental Quality

Brad Campbell, Member

Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Malcolm W. Chase, Member

Barbara C. Levin, Alternate

National Oceanographic and

Atmospheric Administration

Nancy Foster, Member

Teri Rowles, Alternate

Richard S. Artz, Alternate

Environmental Protection Agency

Paul Campanella, Member

David R. Williams, Alternate

National Cancer Institute

Victor Fung, Member

Harry Seifried, Alternate

National Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences

William Eastin, Member, Chair

H.B. Matthews, Alternate

National Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health

Albert E. Munson, Member

Christine Sofge, Alternate

National Science Foundation

A. Frederick Thompson, Member

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration

Lyn Penniman, Member

Val H. Schaeffer, Alternate

Liaison Organizations and Their

Representatives

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease

Registry

William Cibulas, Member

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Jacqueline Ferrante, Member, Vice

Chair

Department of Agriculture

Clifford P. Rice, Member

Department of Defense

Rick Drawbaugh, Member

Janet Whaley, Alternate

Jose Centeno, Alternate

Department of the Interior

Barnett A. Rattner, Member

Food and Drug Administration

Raju Kammula, Member

National Library of Medicine

Vera W. Hudson, Member

National Toxicology Program

NIEHS, FDA, and NIOSH Members

Counsel

Scott Sherlock, Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics, EPA

Technical Support Contractor

Syracuse Research Corporation

ITC Staff

John D. Walker, Executive Director

Norma S. L. Williams, Executive

Assistant

TSCA Interagency Testing Committee,

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics

(7401), Environmental Protection Agency,

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 260–

1825; fax number: (202) 260–7895; e-mail

address: williams.norma@epa.gov; url: http:/

/www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc.

[FR Doc. 00–29051 Filed 11–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S