UNITED
STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
WASHINGTON,
D.
C.
20460
OFFICE
OF
PREVENTION,
PESTICIDES
AND
TOXIC
SUBSTANCES
March
27,
2003
Scott
Ferson,
Ph.
D.
Applied
Biomathematics
100
North
Country
Road
Setauket,
NY
11733
Dear
Dr.
Ferson:

Thank
you
for
agreeing
to
conduct
an
independent
"
letter
peer
review"
of
the
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency's
(
USEPA's)
and
U.
S.
Consumer
Product
Saftety
Commision's
(
CPSC's)
proposed
research
effort
related
to
Chromated
Copper
Arsenate
(
CCA)­
treated
wood.
Specifically,
this
research,
which
is
being
conducted
by
USEPA's
Office
of
Research
and
Development
(
ORD)
in
collaboration
with
the
Office
of
Pesticide
Programs
(
OPP)
and
the
CPSC,
is
intended
to
develop
data
on
the
effectiveness
of
sealants
in
preventing,
or
reducing,
the
amount
of
dislodgeable
arsenic
residues
on
CCA­
treated
wood
surfaces.
The
data
developed
in
this
effort
will
be
critical
in
aiding
the
USEPA
and
the
CPSC
in
developing
guidance
to
the
public
relative
to
reducing
potential
exposure
to
arsenic
from
existing
CCA­
treated
wood
structures.

We
are
pursuing
comments
from
individual
scientists
on
the
proposed
research
protocol
in
order
to
ensure
that
this
study
is
conducted
using
the
best
scientific
means.
Recognizing
your
expertise,
the
Agency
requests
your
review
of
the
enclosed
research
protocol
documents:

"
Evaluation
of
The
Effectiveness
of
Coatings
In
Reducing
Potentially
Dislodgeable
Arsenic
From
CCA
Treated
Wood",
Quality
Assurance
Project
Plan,
Category
II/
Sampling
and
Analysis,
Draft
­
Revision
1,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Air
Pollution
Prevention
and
Control
Division,
March
21,
2003.
1
Please
email
your
comments
as
well
to:
elkassabany.
nader@
epa.
gov
2
"
Screening/
Selection
of
Coatings
for
Reducing
Potentially
Dislodgeable
Arsenic
From
CCA
Treated
Wood",
Quality
Assurance
Project
Plan,
Category
III/
Sampling
and
Analysis,
Draft
­
Revision
1,
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Air
Pollution
Prevention
and
Control
Division,
March
21,
2003.

We
ask
that
when
performing
your
review,
you
specifically
address
those
questions
presented
in
the
attachment
entitled,
"
Questions
for
External
Peer
Reviewers".
A
short
background
is
presented
with
each
question
which
provides
some
context.
Please
also
feel
free
to
provide
any
additional
comments
that
you
may
consider
to
be
beneficial
to
the
Agency.
When
providing
comments,
please
be
sure
to
include
your
name,
title,
affiliation,
and
date
of
review.

If
you
have
any
questions
or
need
additional
information,
please
contact
Dr.
Nader
Elkassabany,
the
Project
Officer
for
this
effort.

In
an
effort
to
aid
you
in
your
peer
review,
we
are
providing,
as
an
attachment,
testimony
given
by
OPP
recently
at
a
CPSC
public
hearing
regarding
a
petition
to
ban
the
sale
CCA­
treated
wood
for
use
in
play
structures.
Additionally,
should
you
have
questions
on
the
methodology
developed
by
the
Agency
on
conducting
a
probabilistic
risk
assessment,
you
may
refer
to
the
website,

http://
www.
epa.
gov/
scipoly/
sap/
2002/
index.
htm
which
describes
the
Agency's
probabilistic
model
[
Stochastic
Human
Exposure
and
Dose
Simulation
Model
(
SHEDS)]
and
the
questions
and
responses
posed
to
and
received
from
the
USEPA's
Scientific
Advisory
Panel.

In
closing,
your
completed
review
with
comments
(
hard
copy)
should
be
forwarded
to:
1
Dr.
Nader
Elkassabany
USEPA
Project
Officer
Anticrobials
Division
(
7510C)
Office
of
Pesticide
Programs
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency
1200
Pennsylvania
Avenue,
N.
W.
Washington,
D.
C.
20460
3
We
request
that
you
complete
your
review
and
forward
your
comments
to
us
no
later
than
April
15,
2003.
I
would
again
like
to
thank
you
in
advance
for
your
willingness
to
review
and
provide
comments
on
the
proposed
protocol.
Please
feel
free
to
direct
any
questions
you
may
have
to
Dr.
Elkassabany
at
703­
308­
8783.

Sincerely,

Jack
E.
Housenger,
Acting
Associate
Director
Antimicrobials
Division
(
7510C)
Office
of
Pesticide
Programs
Attachments
