Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 220 / Wednesday, November 16, 2005 / Notices 69567 

Dated: November 10, 2005. 

Sandra L. Kusumoto, 

Director, Bureau of Consumer Complaints 

and Licensing. 

[FR Doc. 05–22746 Filed 11–15–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6730–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Toxicology Program (NTP); 

Center for the Evaluation of Risks to 

Human Reproduction (CERHR); 

Announcement of the Availability of 

the Di-(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate (DEHP) 

Update Expert Panel Report; Request 

for Public Comment 

AGENCY: National Institute for 

Environmental Health Sciences 

(NIEHS); National Institutes of Health 

(NIH). 

ACTION: Report availability and request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: The CERHR announces the 

availability of the DEHP update expert 

panel report on November 21, 2005 from 

the CERHR Web site (http:// 

cerhr.niehs.nih.gov) or in print from the 

CERHR (see ADDRESSES below). The 

expert panel report is an updated 

evaluation of the reproductive and 

developmental toxicity of DEHP 

conducted by an 11-member expert 

panel composed of scientists from the 

Federal government, universities, and 

private organizations. The expert panel 

met in public on October 10–12, 2005, 

at the Holiday Inn Old Town Select 

Alexandria, Virginia to review and 

revise the draft expert panel report and 

reach conclusions regarding whether 

exposure to DEHP is a hazard to human 

development or reproduction. The 

expert panel also identified data gaps 

and research needs. The CERHR invites 

the submission of public comments on 

this expert panel report (see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below). 

The CERHR previously solicited public 

comment on the draft version of this 

expert panel report (70 FR 43870–

43871, July 29, 2005). 

DATES: The final DEHP update expert 

panel report will be available for public 

comment on November 21, 2005. 

Written public comments on this report 

should be received by January 4, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the expert 

panel report and any other 

correspondence should be sent to Dr. 

Michael D. Shelby, CERHR Director, 

NIEHS, P.O. Box 12233, MD EC–32, 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 

(mail), (919) 316–4511 (fax), or 

shelby@niehs.nih.gov (e-mail). Courier 

address: CERHR, 79 T.W. Alexander 

Drive, Building 4401, Room 103, 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The NTP–CERHR convened an expert 

panel on October 10–12, 2005, to reevaluate the reproductive and 

developmental toxicities of di(2- 

ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP, CAS RN: 

117–81–7). DEHP is a high production 

volume chemical used as a plasticizer in 

the manufacture of a wide variety of 

consumer products. It is found in many 

consumer products, such as building 

products, car products, clothing, food 

packaging, children’s products (but not 

in toys intended for mouthing), and in 

some medical devices made of 

polyvinyl chloride. The public can be 

exposed to DEHP by ingesting food or 

drink that has been in contact with 

DEHP-containing plastics and through 

medical procedures that use DEHPcontaining plastics. 

A previous CERHR expert panel 

evaluated DEHP in 1999–2000. 

However, since release of the earlier 

CERHR expert panel report on DEHP, 

approximately 150 papers relevant to 

human exposure and reproductive and/ 

or developmental toxicity of DEHP have 

been published. The CERHR decided to 

update the evaluation of DEHP because 

of: (1) Widespread human exposure, (2) 

public and government interest in 

potential adverse health effects, and (3) 

the large number of relevant papers 

published since the earlier evaluation. 

Both the original and updated expert 

panel reports for DEHP are available on 

the CERHR Web site (http:// 

cerhr.niehs.nih.gov). This is the first 

time a CERHR expert panel was 

convened to update an evaluation 

conducted by an earlier expert panel. 

Following receipt of public comments 

on the DEHP update expert panel report, 

the CERHR staff will prepare an NTP–

CERHR monograph on this chemical. 

NTP–CERHR monographs are divided 

into four major sections: (1) The NTP 

Brief which provides the NTP’s 

interpretation of the potential for the 

chemical to cause adverse reproductive 

and/or developmental effects in exposed 

humans, (2) a roster of expert panel 

members, (3) the final expert panel 

report, and (4) any public comments 

received on that report. The NTP Brief 

is based on the expert panel report, 

public comments on that report, and 

any new information that became 

available after the expert panel meeting. 

Request for Comments 

The CERHR invites written public 

comments on the DEHP update expert 

panel report. Written comments should 

be sent to Dr. Michael Shelby at the 

address provided above. Persons 

submitting written comments are asked 

to include their name and contact 

information (affiliation, mailing address, 

telephone and facsimile numbers, email, and sponsoring organization, if 

any). Any comments received will be 

posted on the CERHR Web site and be 

included in the NTP CERHR monograph 

on this chemical. All public comments 

will be considered by the NTP during 

preparation of the NTP Brief described 

above under ‘‘Background.’’

Background Information on the CERHR 

The NTP established CERHR in June 

1998 [63 FR 68782, Dec. 14, 1998]. 

CERHR is a publicly accessible resource 

for information about adverse 

reproductive and/or developmental 

health effects associated with exposure 

to environmental and/or occupational 

exposures. Expert panels conduct 

scientific evaluations of agents selected 

by CERHR in public forums. 

CERHR invites the nomination of 

agents for evaluation or scientists for its 

expert registry. Information about 

CERHR and the nomination process can 

be obtained from its Web site (http:// 

cerhr.niehs.nih.gov) or by contacting Dr. 

Shelby (see ADDRESSES above). CERHR 

selects chemicals for evaluation based 

upon several factors including 

production volume, potential for human 

exposure from use and occurrence in 

the environment, extent of public 

concern, and extent of data from 

reproductive and developmental 

toxicity studies. 

CERHR follows a formal, multi-step 

process for review and evaluation of 

selected chemicals. The formal 

evaluation process was published in the 

Federal Register notice July 16, 2001 

(66 FR 37047–37048, July 16, 2001) and 

is available on the CERHR Web site 

under ‘‘About CERHR’’ or in printed 

copy from the CERHR. 

Dated: November 3, 2005. 

David A. Schwartz, 

Director, National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences and the National Toxicology 

Program. 

[FR Doc. 05–22693 Filed 11–15–05; 8:45 am] 

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