Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 1996 / Notices 19277

‘‘Environmental Test Methods and

Guidelines.’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Any

member of the public wishing to submit

written comments should contact Robert

B. Jaeger at the address or the phone

number given above to be sure that the

meetings are still scheduled and to

confirm the Panel’s agenda. Interested

persons are permitted to file written

statements before the meetings. To the

extent that time permits and upon

advanced written request to the

Designated Federal Official, interested

persons may be permitted by the

chairman of the Scientific Advisory

Panel to present oral statements at the

meetings. There is no limit on written

comments for consideration by the

Panel, but oral statements before the

Panel are limited to approximately 5

minutes. Since oral statements will be

permitted only as time permits, the

Agency urges the public to submit

written comments in lieu of oral

presentations. Persons wishing to make

oral and/or written statements should

notify the Designated Federal Official

and submit twenty copies of a summary

no later than May 20, 1996, in order to

ensure sufficient time for appropriate

consideration by the Panel.

A public record has been established

for this notice under docket number

‘‘OPP-00433’’ (including comments and

data submitted electronically as

described below). A public version of

this record, including printed, paper

versions of electronic comments, which

does not include any informaiton

claimed as CBI, is available for

inspection from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The public record is located in

Rm. 1132, Public Response and Program

Resources Branch, Field Operations

Division (7506C), Office of Pesticide

Programs, Environmental Protection

Agency, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson

Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.

Electronic comments can be sent

directly to EPA at:

opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov

Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption.

The official record for this notice, as

well as the public version, as described

above will be kept in paper form.

Accordingly, EPA will transfer all

comments received electronically into

printed, paper form as they are received

and will place the paper copies in the

official record which will also include

all comments submitted directly in

writing. The official record is the paper

record maintained at the address in

‘‘ADDRESSES’’ at the beginning of this

document.

Copies of the Panel’s report of their

recommendations will be available 10 to

15 working days after the meetings and

may be obtained by contacting the

Public Response and Program Resources

Branch, at the address or telephone

number given above.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Test

guidelines.

Dated: April 23, 1996.

Daniel M. Barolo,

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 96–10805 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

[FRL–5465–8]

Public Workshop on Privatization of

the National Radon Proficiency

Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Workshop.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to announce a public workshop on the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA) National Radon Proficiency

Program, and provide information about

the workshop date, time and location.

The purpose of the workshop is to

discuss EPA’s options for privatization.

This notice includes a description of the

workshop materials and background

information being made available before

the workshop, and information on how

to request them. The Agency expects a

wide variety of organizations to attend,

including those with an interest in

operating the program, states with

similar programs, radon industry

practitioners, program participants and

members of the general public.

DATES: EPA will hold the public

workshop on privatization of the

National Radon Proficiency Program on

Thursday, May 30, 1996, in Washington,

D.C. Details of the workshop location

and time will be included in the preworkshop materials. The workshop is

expected to start at 8:00 a.m. and

conclude at 5:00 p.m.

Written comments about the Agency’s

plan to privatize the National Radon

Proficiency Program will be accepted

until July 1, 1996, and should be

submitted to the public docket or to Mr.

Ed Chu as indicated in addresses below.

ADDRESSES: A package of information

about the National Radon Proficiency

Program and the public workshop,

including the agenda, fact sheets,

program design description,

administrative costs, the Agency’s

strawman privatization plan, and other

relevant materials may be obtained

before the workshop by phone, fax or Email. Although these materials will also

be available at the workshop, EPA

recommends that background materials

be obtained and reviewed before the

workshop. To request the package of

information before the workshop,

contact Ms. Taunya Davis (202) 233–

9398, or Ms. Estelle Mackall (202) 233–

9390, or by facsimile at (202) 233–9555.

Ms. Davis and Ms. Mackall are with the

Indoor Environments Division (6604–J),

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, 401

M Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20460.

Facsimile requests should clearly

identify this public workshop in any

cover sheet used, and include the

requester’s full name and address,

phone and facsimile number and e-mail

address (if any). You may also request

the information package by e-mail at

‘‘davis.taunya@epamail.epa.gov’’.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Ed Chu, RPP Privatization Workgroup,

U.S. EPA/Office of Air and Radiation,

Indoor Environments Division (6604–J),

401 M Street SW., Washington, D.C.

20460; telephone (202) 233–9347 or by

e-mail at ‘‘chu.ed@epamail.epa.gov’’.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Authority

After smoking, human exposure to

radon gas is the second leading cause of

death due to lung cancer. EPA and

others believe that radon is responsible

for about 14,000 deaths each year. To

ensure accurate radon measurements

and proper mitigation of homes with

high radon levels, Congress directed

EPA to establish and operate a radon

proficiency program as part of the

Radon Abatement Act (IRAA) of 1988

(U.S.C. 2661 et seq.).

The Agency’s National Radon

Proficiency Program is a non-regulatory,

voluntary program that is open to

anyone who provides radon

measurement and mitigation services.

The primary purpose of the program is

to improve the quality of radon services

that consumers and organizations

receive, and to assist individual states in

protecting consumers and public health.

II. Background

The EPA established the National

Radon Proficiency Program in late 1985.

At that time the states and consumers

needed an objective means for

evaluating the radon measurement and

mitigation services being offered to the

public by a then fledgling radon services

industry. In recent years, more than 20
19278 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 1996 / Notices

states have established some form of

registration, certification or licensing

program for those in the radon services

business. Many of these states have

made participation in the EPA National

Radon Proficiency Program mandatory.

As of January 30, 1996, about 2,700

individuals and organizations were

participating in the program. About 770

participants were listed as proficient for

radon measurement analytical services,

with another 1,450 for residential

measurement services, and about 480

individuals for mitigation, or radon

reduction, services.

Until 1994, EPA funded the program

through its annual budget

appropriation. However, in April 1994,

the Agency began assessing and

collecting user fees to defray the

program’s operating costs. Congress

directed EPA to establish this user fee

system under section 305 (e)(2) of the

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

EPA distributed the percentage of

program costs to be recovered

incrementally over five years, with the

first year’s fees based on 30% of

program costs, and full cost recovery

(100%) expected in 1998.

EPA is now interested in exploring

privatization of the National Radon

Proficiency Program for several reasons.

First, the radon services industry has

matured sufficiently to a point where

the scale of EPA’s direct involvement in

making proficiency determinations can

be reduced. Second, the states are much

stronger in their public health and

consumer protection radon activities

now than they were a decade ago,

because of their general radon programs

and certification programs. Finally, the

Agency is interested in the private

sector’s potential to operate the program

more cost effectively.

Purpose of Public Workshop

To more fully explore privatization,

EPA is today announcing a public

workshop to discuss the Agency’s

options and the mechanics of

privatizing the National Radon

Proficiency Program, and to gauge the

level of private sector interest. The

Agency expects a wide variety of

organizations to have a potential interest

in the question of whether and how to

privatize the National Radon

Proficiency Program.

Topics that the Agency expects to

discuss with those attending the public

workshop include: (1) EPA’s strawman

privatization plan; (2) a brief history of

the program and the radon industry; (3)

the current program design; (4)

alternatives to the current program

design; (5) the process and mechanisms

for moving all or parts of the program

into the private sector; (6) the Agency’s

role in a privatized program; and, (7)

what steps and actions EPA expects to

take following the workshop to

implement any final privatization plan

and provide a mechanism for

continuing a dialog with interested

parties. Also, the Agency has

established a public docket for the

privatization effort and this public

workshop. The Agency will place in the

docket all public materials about the

privatization effort and this public

workshop.

Furthermore, EPA has established a

30-day comment period, ending July 1,

1996, for receiving comments about the

privatization plan and the public

workshop. Written comments should be

sent to the docket. The Agency will

issue a Federal Register notice

announcing the outcomes from the

public workshop, the Agency’s decision

on privatization and what steps the

Agency will take to implement any final

plan. The Agency expects to have

decided on a privatization plan by the

Fall of 1996.

IV. Public Record

EPA has established a public record

for this workshop (docket control

number A–96–21). The record for this

workshop is available to the public in

the Clean Air Act Docket, located on the

first floor Waterside Mall, room M1500,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

401 M Street SW, mail stop 6102,

Washington, DC 20460, open from 8:30

a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1:30 p.m. to 3:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

legal holidays, (202) 260–7548. The

Agency may charge a reasonable fee for

the copying of docket materials.

Dated: April 24, 1996.

Richard Wilson,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and

Radiation.

[FR Doc. 96–10814 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[FRL–5465–3]

Peer-Review Workshop on PCBs:

Cancer Dose-Response Assessment

and Application to Environmental

Mixtures

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Peer-Review

Workshop.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a peerreview workshop sponsored by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA) National Center for

Environmental Assessment of the Office

of Research and Development to review

the external review draft document,

PCBs: Cancer Dose-Response

Assessment and Application to

Environmental Mixtures (EPA/600/P–

96/001A). EPA will use comments and

recommendations from the workshop to

assist in document revisions.

DATES: The workshop will begin on

Tuesday, May 21, 1996, at 8:30 a.m. and

end on Wednesday, May 22, at 4:30 p.m.

Members of the public may attend as

observers, and there will be a limited

time for comments from the public on

Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday

afternoon is reserved for the peer panel

to write its comments.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held

at the Holiday Inn/Bethesda, 8120

Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland

20814. Eastern Research Group, Inc.

(ERG), and EPA subcontractor, is

providing logistical support for the

workshop. To attend the workshop,

register by May 15 by calling ERG’s

registration line at 617–674–7374, or

send a fax to 617–674–2906. Space is

limited, and reservations will be

accepted on a first-come-first-served

basis. There will be a limited time for

comments from the public on Tuesday

afternoon. Please let ERG know if you

wish to make a brief statement.

The document is available on the

Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ORD or

for purchase from the National

Technical Information Service, 5285

Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161;

telephone 703–487–4650; facsimile

703–321–8547. The NTIS order number

is PB96–140603; the price is $19.50 for

paper and $9.00 for microfiche. Copies

are also available for inspection at EPA

libraries. The EPA Headquarters Library

is located at 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC; the library is open

Monday through Friday between 10:00

a.m. and 2:00 p.m., except for Federal

holidays. Copies are not available from

ERG or NCEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Jim Cogliano, National Center for

Environmental Assessment/Washington

Office (8623), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20460. Telephone:

202–260–3830; facsimile: 202–260–

3803; E–Mail:

cogliano.jim@epamail.epal.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft

report updates the cancer dose-response

assessment for PCBs and shows how

information on toxicity, disposition, and

environmental processes can be

considered together to evaluate health

risks from PCB mixtures in the

environment. Guidance is given on

applying the assessment to