[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 225 (Monday, November 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64713-64714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31246]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6192-2]
Technical Workshop on Issues Associated With Dermal Exposure and
Uptake
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a meeting, organized and convened by Eastern
Research Group, Inc., a contractor to EPA's Risk Assessment Forum, for
external scientific peer consultation on issues related to the
assessment of dermal exposure and uptake. The meeting is being held to
discuss methods under development or currently in use by EPA to assess
dermal exposure to environmental contaminants with subsequent
absorption across the skin.
DATES: The meeting will begin on Thursday, December 10, 1998, at 8:30
a.m. and end on Friday, December 11, 1998, at 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Bethesda Ramada, 8400
Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Eastern Research Group, Inc.,
an EPA contractor, will convene and facilitate the workshop. To
register to attend the workshop as an observer, contact Eastern
Research Group, Inc., Tel: (781) 674-7374, or visit their HomePage at
http://www.erg.com/erg/confer.htm by December 1, 1998. You may also
obtain additional information and register by visiting the National
Center for Environmental Assessment HomePage at http://www.epa.gov/
ncea/new.htm. Space is limited so please register early.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning the
workshop on dermal exposure and uptake issues please contact Steven
Knott, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (8601-D), 401 M St.,
SW., Washington, D.C. 20460, Telephone (202) 564-3359.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the development of EPA guidance on
assessing dermal exposure to and uptake of environmental contaminants,
several generic, cross-cutting issues have been identified. These
issues were referred to the EPA Risk Assessment Forum (RAF) for
discussions within the broader scientific community. The present
Workshop is being held to provide a peer consultation for invited
participants to discuss these issues. The information obtained through
these discussions will be considered by EPA as work continues on dermal
exposure and risk initiatives.
In January 1992, the EPA Office of Health and Environmental
Assessment (now the National Center for Environmental Assessment, NCEA)
completed an interim report entitled Dermal Exposure Assessment:
Principles and Applications. This report provides guidance for
conducting dermal exposure and risk assessments. Using this as a
foundation, a workgroup convened under the Superfund program has been
developing an expanded and updated guidance on dermal exposure
[[Page 64714]]
and uptake. A draft of this guidance was peer reviewed in February
1998. During this review, several broad issues related to dermal
exposure and risk assessment were identified. These issues transcend
the program specific approaches of Superfund and are important to
dermal exposure and risk assessment practices Agency-wide. The generic
issues, that will be the focal point for discussions during the present
workshop, can be organized into four categories: issues associated with
dermal exposure to contaminants in water, issues associated with dermal
exposure to contaminants in soil, issues associated with the adjustment
of toxicity factors to reflect absorbed dose, and issues related to
risk characterization and uncertainty analysis for dermal assessments.
Dated: November 13, 1998.
William H. Farland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 98-31246 Filed 11-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
