

[Federal Register: May 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84)]
[Notices]               
[Page 24290-24292]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my07-53]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125; FRL-8127-7]

 
Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium; Revised Human Health Risk 
Assessment, Notice of Availability and Solicitation of Risk Reduction 
Options

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability and seeks comments on 
EPA's revised human health risk assessment for the pesticide fumigants 
metam sodium and metam potassium. In addition, this notice solicits 
public comment on the risk reduction options paper for fumigants 
including metam sodium and metam potassium and EPA's benefits 
assessments for the soil fumigants. The Agency is also seeking comments 
on the ecological risk assessment which was not revised since the last 
public comment period. The public is encouraged to suggest risk 
management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is 
developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for metam sodium 
and metam potassium through the full, 6-Phase public participation 
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing 
pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. EPA also 
is concurrently assessing the risks of four other soil fumigant 
pesticides to ensure that its assessment approaches are consistent, and 
to ensure that risk tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be adequately 
predicted in reaching risk management decisions. The Agency is seeking 
the same input from the public on these pesticides on a similar 
schedule. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides 
meet current health and safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The 
Docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0125. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line 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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The Federal regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not

[[Page 24291]]

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 regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the 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.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket 

Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the 
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov web 
site to view the docket index or access available documents. 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, is not placed on 
the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either in the 
electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available 

in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One 
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The 
hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket 
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Veronique LaCapra, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 605-1525; fax 
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: lacapra.veronique@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide 
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, 
or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be 
affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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

     1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
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:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
     ii. 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.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    EPA is making available the Agency's revised human health risk 
assessment and ecological risk assessment, initially issued for comment 
through a Federal Register notice published on July 13, 2005, (70 FR 
40333) (FRL-7722-1); a response to comments; and related documents for 
metam sodium and metam potassium. EPA also is soliciting public comment 
on the risk reduction options paper and benefits assessments for the 
soil fumigants. EPA developed the risk assessments for metam sodium and 
metam potassium as part of its public process for making pesticide 
reregistration eligibility and tolerance reassessment decisions. 
Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet current 
standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
(FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as 
amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
    Metam sodium and metam potassium are non-selective pre-plant soil 
fumigants with fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal 
properties. They are registered for use on all food, feed and fiber 
crops including turf and ornamentals. Metam sodium's major agricultural 
use sites include potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and peanuts. 
Metam potassium's major use sites are lettuce, potatoes, onions, 
tomatoes, and watermelons. Metam sodium is also registered for use in 
orchard replant, on golf course turf, and for small areas of turf and 
soil. In addition, metam sodium is used as a root-control agent in 
drains and sewers. Metam sodium and metam potassium are also registered 
for a variety of antimicrobial and industrial uses. Metam sodium and 
metam potassium are converted to methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in the 
environment, particularly in the presence of moisture (such as in soil 
after application). It is MITC that performs the fumigating activity. 
The volatility of metam sodium and metam potassium in the environment, 
and results of metabolism studies in plants, assure that there is no 
reasonable expectation of finite residues to be incurred in/on any raw 
agricultural commodity when the products are applied according to label 
directions.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for metam sodium and metam potassium. Risks 
of concern associated with the use of metam sodium and metam potassium 
include

[[Page 24292]]

bystander and worker risks. A complete list of the risks and the 
mitigation options can be found in the Risk Mitigation Options Document 
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. A Readers Guide has been created to 
provide an organizational structure to the metam sodium and metam 
potassium docket, to allow readers to more easily access and navigate 
the various entries contained in the metam sodium and metam potassium 
docket, and to facilitate public comment. You may find this guide in 
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. In targeting these risks of 
concern, the Agency solicits information on effective and practical 
risk reduction measures.
    EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all 
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The 
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public 
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14, 
2004, (69 FR 26819)(FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these 
programs, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be 
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of 
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide. 
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, metam sodium and metam 
potassium are being reviewed through the full 6-Phase public 
participation process.
    All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, 
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments and 
proposals will become part of the Agency Docket for metam sodium and 
metam potassium. Comments received after the close of the comment 
period will be marked ``late'' EPA is not required to consider these 
late comments.
    After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the 
metam sodium and metam potassium RED.

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission 
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the 
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active 
ingredient are eligible for reregistration,'' before calling in product 
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering 
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: April 25, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. E7-8269 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
