Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0108-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice of Workshop To Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform EPA’s Integrated Plan for the Review of the Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Posted Date: 2010-04-21T04:00Z

[Federal Register: April 21, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 76)]
[Notices]               
[Page 20843-20844]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21ap10-61]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0108; FRL-9139-9]

 
Notice of Workshop To Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform 
EPA's Integrated Plan for the Review of the Lead National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
that a workshop entitled, ``Workshop to Discuss Policy-Relevant Science 
to Inform EPA's Integrated Plan for Review of the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Lead,'' is being organized by EPA's Office of Air 
and Radiation's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) 
and EPA's Office of Research and Development's National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA). The workshop will be held May 10-11, 
2010, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The workshop will be 
open to attendance by interested public observers on a first-come, 
first-served basis up to the limits of available space.

DATES: The workshop will be held on May 10 and 11, 2010. The pre-
registration deadline is May 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA, 109 T.W. 
Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. An EPA 
contractor, ICF International Inc., is providing logistical support for 
the workshop. To register, please use the on-line registration form at: 
http://epa.leadworkshop.icfi.com. Please direct questions regarding 
workshop registration or logistics to ICF staff at 919-293-1621 or 
EPA_Lead_Wksp@icfi.com, or contact Ms. Tricia Crabtree, OAQPS, at 
919-541-5688. For specific questions regarding technical aspects of the 
workshop, see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on technical aspects 
of the workshop, contact Dr. Deirdre Murphy, OAQPS, telephone: 919-541-
0729, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or e-mail: Murphy.deirdre@epa.gov or 
contact Dr. Ellen Kirrane, NCEA, telephone: 919-541-1340, or e-mail: 
kirrane.ellen@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information about the Workshop

    This workshop is designed to inform the planning for EPA's recently 
initiated review of the primary (health-based)

[[Page 20844]]

and secondary (welfare-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS) for lead (Pb).\1\ Consistent with the NAAQS review process,\2\ 
the workshop will provide an opportunity to highlight key policy issues 
around which EPA would structure the Pb NAAQS review. In workshop 
discussions, external and internal experts will be expected to 
highlight significant new and emerging Pb research and make 
recommendations to the Agency regarding the design and scope of this 
review. The goal of the workshop is to ensure that this review focuses 
on the key policy-relevant issues and considers the most meaningful new 
science to inform our understanding of these issues. Workshop 
discussions will provide important input as EPA considers the 
appropriate design and scope of major elements of the Pb review that 
will inform the Agency's policy assessment. These elements include an 
integrated review plan (IRP) highlighting the key policy-relevant 
issues; an integrated science assessment; and a risk and exposure 
assessment. The workshop discussions are planned to build upon the 
following two publications, copies of which are available at http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html.
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    \1\ The Federal Register notice issuing EPA's call for 
information for the recently initiated review is available at: 
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html.
    \2\ More information on the NAAQS review process is provided at: 
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/.
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    1. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Final Rule (73 
FR 66964, November 12, 2008). The preamble to the final rule includes 
detailed discussions of policy-relevant issues central to the last 
review.
    2. Air Quality Criteria for Lead (EPA/600/R-05/144aF, October 
2006).
    As an early step in the new review, the workshop is intended to 
identify issues and questions to frame the review. Drawing from the 
workgroup discussions, EPA will next develop a draft IRP. The IRP, in 
addition to summarizing the schedule and process for the review, will 
present general approaches for evaluating the relevant scientific 
information, assessing lead-related risks to public health and the 
environment, and addressing the key policy-relevant issues. The Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) will be asked to consult with 
the Agency on the draft IRP in the late summer of 2010, and the public 
will have the opportunity to comment on it as well. The final IRP will 
be used as the framework to guide the review.

    Dated: April 14, 2010.
Jennifer Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-9172 Filed 4-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P