
[Federal Register: September 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 170)]
[Notices]               
[Page 51297-51298]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02se08-52]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0922; FRL-8704-1]

 
Draft Risk and Exposure Assessment Report for Nitrogen Dioxide 
(NOX)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of draft report for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: On or about August 12, 2008, the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public 
review and comment a draft document titled, Risk and Exposure 
Assessment to Support the Review of the NO2 Primary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard: Second Draft. This draft document has two 
purposes: To convey the approaches taken to characterize exposures and 
risks associated with ambient NO2, and to present the 
results of these analyses.

DATES: Comments on the above reports must be received on or before 
September 26, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0922, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-
0922.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0922.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0922.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA 
Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0922. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the 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 www.regulations.gov 
or e-mail. The 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 
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

[[Page 51298]]

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 home page at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket 
telephone number is 202-566-1742; fax 202-566-9744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Scott Jenkins, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mailcode C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
Jenkins.scott@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-1167; fax: 919-541-0237.

General Information

A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), the Administrator identifies and lists certain pollutants which 
``cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be 
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues 
air quality criteria for listed pollutants, which are commonly referred 
to as ``criteria pollutants.'' The air quality criteria are to 
``accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in 
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public 
health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a] 
pollutant in the ambient air, in varying quantities.'' Under section 
109 of the CAA, EPA establishes national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) for each listed pollutant, with the NAAQS based on the air 
quality criteria. Section 109(d) of the CAA requires periodic review 
and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The 
revised air quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge 
on the effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is 
also required to periodically review and revise the NAAQS, if 
appropriate, based on the revised criteria.
    Air quality criteria have been established for the nitrogen oxides 
(NOX) and NAAQS have been established for nitrogen dioxide 
(NO2), an indicator for gaseous NOX. Presently, 
EPA is in the process of reviewing the NAAQS for NO2. As 
part of its review of the NAAQS, EPA is preparing an assessment of 
exposures and health risks associated with ambient NO2. A 
draft plan describing the proposed approaches to assessing exposures 
and risks is described in the draft document, Nitrogen Dioxide Health 
Assessment Plan: Scope and Methods for Exposure and Risk Assessment. 
This document was released for public review and comment in September 
2007 and was the subject of a consultation with the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) on October 24 and 25, 2007. 
Comments received from that consultation were considered in developing 
the document titled, Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review 
of the NO2 Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard: First Draft, 
which was released for public review and comment in April 2008. This 
document was the subject of a CASAC review on May 1 and 2, 2008. 
Comments received from that review have been considered in developing 
the document titled, Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review 
of the NO2 Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Second Draft, 
which is being released at this time.
    This draft document is available online at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/
naaqs/standards/nox/s_nox_cr_rea.html. It has two primary purposes: 
To convey the approaches taken to characterize exposures and risks 
associated with ambient NO2, and to present the results of 
these analyses. The EPA has solicited advice and recommendations from 
the CASAC by means of a review of the draft document at a public 
meeting to be held on September 9-10, 2008 in Research Triangle Park, 
North Carolina. A separate Federal Register notice will provide 
additional details about this meeting and the process for 
participation. In preparing a final risk and exposure assessment 
report, EPA will consider comments received from the CASAC and the 
public at this upcoming meeting.

    Dated: August 7, 2008.
Jennifer Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-20240 Filed 8-29-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
