[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24502-24503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11072]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2012-0830; FRL-9994-24-ORD]


Availability of the Updated Problem Formulation and Protocol for 
the Inorganic Arsenic IRIS Assessment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30-
day public comment period associated with the release of the Updated 
Problem Formulation and Protocol for the Inorganic Arsenic IRIS 
Assessment. This document summarizes the Agency needs for the 
assessment and presents the refined focus based on problem formulation 
activities conducted since the last assessment plan released to the 
National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) in 2015. 
EPA is releasing this document for public comment in advance of an NAS 
public meeting on July 16, 2019.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins May 28, 2019 and ends 
June 27, 2019. Comments must be received on or before June 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The Updated Problem Formulation and Protocol document will 
be available via the internet on IRIS' website at https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris2/chemicalLanding.cfm?&substance_nmbr=278 and in 
the public docket at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-
ORD-2012-0830.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the docket, contact 
the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; telephone: 202-
566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
    For technical information on the protocol, contact Dr. James Avery, 
NCEA; telephone: 202-564-1494; or email: avery.james@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information on the IRIS Program and Systematic Review Protocols

    EPA's IRIS Program is a human health assessment program that 
evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on effects that 
may result from exposure to chemicals found in the environment. Through 
the IRIS Program, EPA strives to provide high quality science-based 
human health assessments to support the Agency's regulatory activities 
and decisions to protect public health.
    The IRIS Program is developing an updated Toxicological Review of 
Inorganic Arsenic. Given the size and complexity of the evidence base 
for this chemical, input on the scope of this assessment has been 
sought from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 
(NAS), EPA Program and Regional Offices, other federal agencies, and 
public stakeholders to help focus the objectives of the assessment and 
ensure it is transparently conducted. The Updated Problem Formulation 
and Protocol summarizes the Agency's need for the assessment and 
presents the refined focus based on problem formulation activities 
conducted since the last assessment plan released to the NAS in 2015. 
In July 2019, an NAS ad hoc committee will conduct a peer review of the 
revised scope of the assessment and determine whether the proposed 
methods are appropriate to synthesize the scientific evidence and 
develop conclusions. The peer review charge questions will be available 
in the docket prior to the NAS meeting.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at https://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2012-
0830 for Inorganic Arsenic, by one of the following methods:
     https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center (ORD Docket), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The ORD Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
    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. 
Deliveries are only 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 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-
2012-0830 for Inorganic Arsenic. 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 https://

[[Page 24503]]

www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information for which disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information through https://www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The https://www.regulations.gov website 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through https://www.regulations.gov, your email 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the https://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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in https://www.regulations.gov or hard copy at the ORD Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: May 16, 2019.
Tina Bahadori,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2019-11072 Filed 5-24-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


