Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0971-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios
Posted Date: 2007-10-04T04:00Z

[Federal Register: October 4, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 192)]
[Notices]               
[Page 56756-56757]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04oc07-52]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8479-2; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0971]

 
An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in 
Ceramic Art Studios

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the 
external review draft document titled, ``An Exploratory Study: 
Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios'' (EPA/
600/R-06/044A). The draft document was prepared by the National Center 
for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and 
Development.
    For the external scientific peer review, EPA has contracted with 
Eastern Research Group (ERG) to convene an independent panel of experts 
and organize and conduct an external peer-review workshop. The date and 
location for the external peer-review workshop will be announced in a 
separate Federal Register notice. The public comment period and the 
external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide 
opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. In 
addition to consideration by EPA, all public comments submitted in 
accordance with this notice will also be forwarded to EPA's contractor 
for the external peer-review panel's consideration prior to the 
workshop.
    EPA is releasing this external review 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.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins October 4, 2007, and 
ends November 19, 2007. Technical comments should be in writing and 
must be received by EPA by November 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The external review draft document, ``An Exploratory Study: 
Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios,'' is 
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited 

number of paper copies are available from the Technical Information 
Staff, NCEA-W; telephone: 202-564-3261; facsimile: 202-565-0050. If you 
are requesting a paper copy of the draft document, please provide your 
name, mailing address, and the document title, ``An Exploratory Study: 
Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios.''
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov
, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/

courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
ORD.Docket@epa.gov.

    If you need technical information about the draft document, please 
contact John Schaum, National Center for Environmental Assessment 
(NCEA); telephone: 202-564-3237; facsimile: 202-565-0078; e-mail 
schaum.john@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    The purpose of this report is to describe an exploratory 
investigation of potential dioxin exposures to artists and hobbyists 
who use ball clay to make pottery and related products. Dermal, 
inhalation and ingestion exposures to clay were measured at the 
ceramics art department of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. 
Estimates of exposure were made based on measured levels of clay in the 
studio air, deposited on surrogate food samples and on the skin of 
artists. The measurements were made in two separate studies, one in 
April 2003 and one in July 2004. This draft assessment combines the 
results of these two studies.

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

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-
0971, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 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 phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 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. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the Docket's normal hours of

[[Page 56757]]

operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit 
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-
2007-0971. 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 a comment includes 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 Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 

which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, 

your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available 
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends 
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of 
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read 
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, 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: 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 

Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 26, 2007.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E7-19638 Filed 10-3-07; 8:45 am]

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