[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 46 (Thursday, March 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 13895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05084]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0504; FRL-10021-30-ORD]


Availability of the Systematic Review Protocol for the Inorganic 
Mercury Salts Integrated Risk Information System (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 release of the Systematic 
Review Protocol for the Inorganic Mercury Salts IRIS Assessment. This 
document communicates the rationale for conducting the assessment of 
inorganic mercury salts, describes screening criteria to identify 
relevant literature, outlines the approach for evaluating study 
quality, and describes the methods for dose-response analysis.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins March 11, 2021 and ends 
April 12, 2021. Comments must be received on or before April 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The Systematic Review Protocol for Inorganic Mercury Salts 
will be available via the internet on the IRIS website at https://www.epa.gov/iris and in the public docket at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0504.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the docket, contact 
the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; email: 
Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
    For technical information on the protocol, contact Mr. Dahnish 
Shams, Center for Public Health & Environmental Assessment; email: 
shams.dahnish@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background Information on the IRIS Program and Systematic Review 
Protocols

    EPA's IRIS Program is a human health assessment program that 
evaluates quantitative and qualitative information on 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 developing a draft IRIS assessment, EPA presents a 
methods document, referred to as the protocol, for conducting a 
chemical-specific systematic review of the available scientific 
literature. EPA is seeking public comment on components of the protocol 
including the described strategies for literature searches, criteria 
for study inclusion or exclusion, considerations for evaluating study 
methods, information management for extracting data, approaches for 
synthesis within and across lines of evidence, and methods for 
derivation of toxicity values. Additionally, key science issues that 
warrant consideration in this assessment are identified in Section 6. 
The protocol serves to inform the subsequent development of the draft 
assessment and is made available to the public. EPA may update the 
protocol based on the evaluation of the literature, and any updates 
will be posted to the docket and on the IRIS website.

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

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-
0504 for inorganic mercury salts, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744. Due to COVID-19, there may be a delay 
in processing comments submitted by fax.
     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. Due to COVID-
19, there may be a delay in processing comments submitted by mail.
    For information on visiting the EPA Docket Center Public Reading 
Room, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets. Due to public health concerns 
related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room may be 
closed to the public with limited exceptions. The telephone number for 
the Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744. The public can submit comments 
via www.Regulations.gov or email.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0504 for 
inorganic mercury salts. 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 as a hard copy at the ORD Docket in 
the EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

Wayne Cascio,
Director, Center for Public Health & Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2021-05084 Filed 3-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


