[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53720-53721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21957]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0504; FRL-10000-87-ORD]


Availability of the IRIS Assessment Plan for Inorganic Mercury 
Salts

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 release of the IRIS 
Assessment Plan for Inorganic Mercury Salts. This document communicates 
information on the scoping needs identified by EPA program and regional 
offices and the IRIS Program's initial problem formulation activities. 
Specifically, the assessment plan outlines the objectives for the IRIS 
assessment and the type of evidence considered most pertinent to 
address the scoping needs. EPA is releasing this IRIS Assessment Plan 
for a 30-day public comment period in advance of a public science 
webinar planned for December 5, 2019. The Agency encourages the public 
to comment on all aspects of the assessment plan, including key science 
issues.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins October 8, 2019 and ends 
November 7, 2019. Comments must be received on or before November 7, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: The IRIS Assessment Plan for Inorganic Mercury Salts will be 
available via the internet on the IRIS website at https://www.epa.gov/iris/iris-recent-additions and in the public docket at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0504.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; 
phone: 202-566-1752; fax: 202-566-9744; or email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
    For technical information on the IRIS Assessment Plan for Inorganic 
Mercury Salts, contact Dr. James Avery, NCEA; phone: 202-564-1494; or 
email: avery.james@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About IRIS Assessment Plans

    EPA's IRIS Program is a human health assessment program that 
evaluates quantitative and qualitative information on the health 
effects that may result from exposure to chemicals found in the 
environment. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides high quality 
science-based human health assessments to support the Agency's 
regulatory activities and decisions to protect public health. As part 
of scoping and initial problem formulation activities prior to the 
development of an assessment, the IRIS Program carries out a broad, 
preliminary literature survey to assist in identifying health effects 
that have been studied in relation to the chemical or substance of 
interest, as well as science issues that may need to be considered when 
evaluating toxicity. This information, in conjunction with scoping 
needs identified by EPA program and regional offices, is used to inform 
the development of an IRIS Assessment Plan (IAP).
    The IAP communicates the plan for developing each individual 
chemical assessment to the public and includes summary information on 
the IRIS Program's scoping and initial problem formulation activities, 
objectives and specific aims for the assessment, and a PECO 
(Populations, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes) for the systematic 
review. The PECO provides the framework for developing detailed 
literature search strategies and inclusion/exclusion criteria, 
particularly with respect to evidence stream (e.g., human, animal, 
mechanistic), exposure measures, and outcome measures. The IAP serves 
to inform the subsequent development of chemical-specific systematic 
review protocols, which will be made available for public review.

II. Public Webinar Information

    To allow for public input, EPA is convening a public webinar to 
discuss the IRIS Assessment Plan for Inorganic Mercury Salts on 
December 5, 2019. Specific teleconference and webinar information 
regarding this public meeting will be provided through the IRIS website 
(https://www.epa.gov/iris) and via EPA's Human Health Risk Assessment 
(HHRA) and IRIS listservs. To register for the HHRA or IRIS listserv, 
visit the IRIS website (https://www.epa.gov/iris) or visit https://www.epa.gov/iris/forms/staying-connected-integrated-risk-information-system#connect.

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

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-
0504, 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.

[[Page 53721]]

     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 phone 
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-
2019-0504. 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://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 in hard copy at the ORD Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 26, 2019.
Tina Bahadori,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2019-21957 Filed 10-7-19; 8:45 am]
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