
[Federal Register: July 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 140)]
[Notices]
[Page 42341-42343]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy08-38]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0352; FRL-8689-3]


Draft Risk and Exposure Assessment Report for Sulfur Dioxide
(SO2)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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

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SUMMARY: On or about July 3, 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 SO2 Primary National Ambient Air
Quality Standards: First Draft.'' The purpose of this draft document is
to convey the approach taken to assess exposures to ambient
SO2 and to characterize associated

[[Page 42342]]

health risks, as well as to present the results of those assessments.

DATES: Comments on the above reports must be received on or before
August 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0352, by one of the following methods:
     http://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-2007-
0352.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0352.
     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-2007-0352.
     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-
2007-0352. 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 http://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 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: All 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 material, such
as copyrighted material, will be 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 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. Michael Stewart, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (Mailcode C504-06), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail:
stewart.michael@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-7524; 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
http://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 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 sulfur oxides
(SOx) and NAAQS have been established for sulfur dioxide
(SO2), an indicator for SOx. Presently, EPA is
reviewing the air quality criteria for SOx and the NAAQS for
SO2. As part of its review of the NAAQS, EPA is preparing an
assessment of exposures and characterization of health risks associated
with ambient SO2. A draft

[[Page 42343]]

plan describing the proposed approaches to assessing exposures and
characterizing risks is described in the draft document, Sulfur Dioxide
Health Assessment Plan: Scope and Methods for Exposure and Risk
Assessment. This document was released for public review and comment in
November 2007 and was the subject of a consultation with the Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) on December 5 and 6, 2007.
Comments received from that consultation have been considered in
developing the draft risk and exposure assessment document being
released at this time.
    The draft document being released at this time conveys the approach
taken to assess exposures to ambient SO2 and to characterize
associated health risks, as well as to present the results of those
assessments. This draft document will be available online at: http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/so2/s_so2_cr_rea.html.
    The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC by
means of a review on the draft document at an upcoming public meeting
of the CASAC scheduled for July 30-31, 2008 in Research Triangle Park,
NC. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider comments received
from the CASAC and the public in preparing a second draft risk and
exposure assessment report. The release of the second draft report will
be followed by another CASAC meeting which will be announced in a
future Federal Register notice and ultimately EPA will release a final
risk and exposure assessment document taking into consideration
comments from the CASAC and public.

    Dated: July 3, 2008.
Mary Henigen,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-16671 Filed 7-18-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
