

[Federal Register: October 6, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 194)]
[Notices]               
[Page 59107-59108]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06oc06-63]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8228-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0812]

 
Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 60-day public comment period for the 
external review draft document titled, ``Child-Specific Exposure 
Factors Handbook'' (EPA/600/R-06/096A). The draft document was prepared 
by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office 
of Research and Development. The ``Child-Specific Exposure Factors 
Handbook'' provides a summary of statistical data on various exposure 
factors used in assessing children's exposures, including: drinking 
water consumption; soil ingestion and mouthing behavior; inhalation 
rates; dermal factors including skin surface area and soil adherence 
factors; consumption of retail and home-grown foods; breast milk 
intake; and activity pattern data. This Handbook serves as a resource 
for exposure assessors for calculating children's exposures. An interim 
final version of this handbook was published in 2002. This updated 
version provides analysis of exposure factors data using the age groups 
for children recommended in the EPA document entitled, ``Guidance on 
Selecting Age Groups for Monitoring and Assessing Childhood Exposures 
to Environmental Contaminants'' (EPA/630/P-03/003F) (Available on line 
at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=146583).

    EPA is releasing the draft ``Child-Specific Exposure Factors 
Handbook'' solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review 
under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not 
been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not 
be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice 
when revising the document.

DATES: The 60-day public comment period begins October 6, 2006, and 
ends December 5, 2006. Technical comments should be in writing and must 
be received by EPA by December 5, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook'' is 
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of 

paper copies are available from the Technical Information Staff, NCEA-
W; telephone: 202-564-3261; facsimile: 202-565-0050. If you are 
requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, your mailing 
address, and the document title, ``Child-Specific Exposure Factors 
Handbook'' (EPA/600/R-06/096A).
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, 

by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the 
detailed instructions provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
ORD.Docket@epa.gov.

    For technical information, contact Jacqueline Moya, NCEA; 
telephone: 202-564-3245; facsimile: 202-565-0079; or e-mail: 
moya.jacqueline@epa.gov.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

How to Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov


    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2006-
0812 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 

submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov
     Fax: 202-566-1753
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) 
Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 
202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only

[[Page 59108]]

accepted during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2006-0812. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 

unless a 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: 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, is 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 OEI Docket in the EPA 

Headquarters Docket Center.

    Note: The EPA Docket Center suffered damage due to flooding 
during the last week of June 2006. The Docket Center is continuing 
to operate. However, during the cleanup, there will be temporary 
changes to Docket Center telephone numbers, addresses, and hours of 
operation for people who wish to make hand deliveries or visit the 
Public Reading Room to view documents. Consult EPA's Federal 
Register notice at 71 FR 38147 (July 5, 2006) or the EPA Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm for current information on docket 

operations, locations and telephone numbers. The Docket Center's 
mailing address for U.S. mail and the procedure for submitting 
comments to http://www.regulations.gov are not affected by the flooding and 

will remain the same.


    Dated: September 27, 2006.
George Alapas,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E6-16573 Filed 10-5-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
