Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0645-0013
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Meetings: External Peer Review; Using Probabilistic Methods to Enhance Role of Risk Analysis in Decision-Making
Posted Date: 2010-04-09T04:00Z

[Federal Register: April 9, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 68)]
[Notices]               
[Page 18205-18206]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ap10-84]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0645; FRL-9135-9]

 
Notice of Peer Review Meeting for the External Peer Review Drafts 
of Two Documents on Using Probabilistic Methods To Enhance the Role of 
Risk Analysis in Decision-Making

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Peer Review Meeting with Opportunity for Public 
Comment.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), an 
EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will convene an 
independent panel of experts and organize and conduct an external peer 
review meeting to review two draft documents entitled, ``Using 
Probabilistic Methods to Enhance the Role of Risk Analysis in Decision-
Making, with Case Study Examples'' and a ``Managers' Summary'' of the 
same document. The draft documents were prepared by the Agency's Risk 
Assessment Forum. The peer review meeting is scheduled to take place on 
May 6, 2010. On August 18, 2009, EPA announced a 15-day public comment 
period for the draft documents (74 FR 41695), and on September 17, 2009 
extended the comment period to 60 days (74 FR 47794), thus closing the 
public comment period on October 16, 2009.
    The public comment period and the external peer review are separate 
processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to 
comment on the document. In addition to the opportunity provided for 
public comments through the EPA docket by the closing date of October 
16, 2009, the public can provide comments for the external peer 
reviewers' consideration through the public meeting scheduled for May 
6, 2010.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination.

[[Page 18206]]

    The public will be given an opportunity to observe and provide oral 
comments at this meeting by registering with the point of contact below 
(see HOW CAN I REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING?). The draft 
document is available through the EPA docket at http://
www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0645. 
Additionally, the draft document and the charge questions for EPA's 
external peer review are available via the Internet on the Risk 
Assessment Forum's home page at http://www.epa.gov/raf/prawhitepaper.
    In preparing a final report, EPA will consider the peer review 
report of the recommendations from the external peer review panel and 
any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with the Federal 
Register notices noted above on the document and at the public meeting.

DATES: The peer review meeting will be held on May 6, 2010 at 8:30 
a.m., and will end approximately 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. 
Registration for this peer review meeting is required (see HOW CAN I 
REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING?). Members of the public will be 
allowed to make brief (no longer than 5 minutes) oral statements during 
the meeting's public comment period.

How Can I Request To Participate in This Meeting?

    Members of the public may call into the meeting via teleconference 
as observers, and there will be a limited time for comments from the 
public. The peer-review meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal 
City Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202.
    Space is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-
come, first-served basis. A teleconference line will be available to 
registered observers if traveling is not an option. In order to 
participate, you should contact the EPA contractor, ERG, which is 
organizing, convening, and conducting the peer review meeting. To 
attend the meeting, register by April 29, 2010, by calling ERG at (781) 
674-7374 or toll free at (800) 803-2833 (ask for the PRA peer review 
coordinator, Laurie Waite), sending a facsimile to (781) 674-2906 
(please reference: ``PRA Peer Review Meeting'' and include your name, 
title, affiliation, full address and contact information), or sending 
an e-mail to meetings@erg.com (subject line: PRA Peer Review Meeting 
and include your name, title, affiliation, full address and contact 
information). You may also register via the Internet at https://
www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/peerreview/register-pra.htm. When 
registering, please also indicate whether you would like to make a 
comment during the observer comment portion of the meeting. The call-in 
number for the peer review meeting will be: Telephone number: 1 (888) 
346-3659; Pass Code: 87633.

ADDRESSES: The drafts ``Using Probabilistic Methods to Enhance the Role 
of Risk Analysis in Decision-Making, with Case Study Examples'' and 
``Using Probabilistic Methods to Enhance the Role of Risk Analysis in 
Decision-Making-Managers' Summary'' are available primarily via the 
Internet on the Risk Assessment Forum's home page at http://
www.epa.gov/raf/prawhitepaper. A limited number of paper copies are 
available from the Risk Assessment Forum. If you are requesting a paper 
copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the document 
title, to Dr. Kathryn Gallagher via the contact information below.
    For technical information, please contact: Dr. Kathryn Gallagher, 
Executive Director of the Risk Assessment Forum, Mail Code 8105R, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-1398; fax number: 
(202) 564-2070, E-mail: gallagher.kathryn@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Various stakeholders, inside and outside the 
Agency, have called for a more comprehensive characterization of risks, 
including uncertainties, in protecting more sensitive or vulnerable 
populations and life stages. Therefore, the Office of the Science 
Advisor of the EPA, together with EPA's Science Policy Council and 
members of EPA's Risk Assessment Forum (RAF), identified a need to 
examine the use of probabilistic approaches in Agency risk assessment 
and risk management. An RAF Technical Panel developed this White Paper 
and the Managers' Summary to provide a general overview of the value of 
probabilistic analyses and similar or related methods, and some 
examples of current applications across the Agency. The purpose of 
these papers is not only to describe potential and actual uses of these 
tools in the risk decision process, but also to encourage their further 
implementation in human, ecological, and environmental risk analysis 
and related decision making. The enhanced use of probabilistic analyses 
to characterize uncertainty in assessments would not only reflect 
external scientific advice on how to further advance EPA risk 
assessment science, but will also help to address specific challenges 
faced by managers and improve confidence in Agency decisions. The draft 
document was prepared by the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Technical 
Panel of EPA's Risk Assessment Forum and has undergone internal peer 
review at EPA.

    Dated: April 5, 2010.
Paul T. Anastas,
EPA Science Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2010-8127 Filed 4-8-10; 8:45 am]
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