[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70126-70127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33631]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-34158; FRL-6052-6]
Increasing Transparency For the Tolerance Reassessment Process;
Availability of Preliminary Risk Assessments for Four Organophosphates
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of documents that were
developed as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's process for
making reregistration eligibility decisions for the organophosphate
pesticides and for tolerance reassessments consistent with the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) as amended by the Food Quality
Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). These documents are the preliminary
ecological risk assessments and related documents for ethoprop, methyl
parathion, temephos, and terbufos and the preliminary human health
assessment for the methyl parathion. This notice also starts a 60-day
public comment period for the preliminary risk assessments. Comments
are to be limited to issues directly associated with the four
organophosphates that have risk assessments placed in the docket and
should be limited to issues raised in those documents. By allowing
access and opportunity for comment on the preliminary risk assessments,
EPA is seeking to strengthen stakeholder involvement and help ensure
our decisions under FQPA are transparent and based on the best
available information. The tolerance reassessment process will ensure
that the United States continues to have the safest and most abundant
food supply. The Agency cautions that these risk assessments are
preliminary assessments only and that further refinements of the risk
assessments will be appropriate for some, if not all, of these four
pesticides. These documents reflect only the work and analysis
conducted as of the time they were produced and it is appropriate that,
as new information becomes available and/or additional analyses are
performed, the conclusions they contain may change.
DATES: Written comments on these assessments must be submitted on or
before February 16, 1999.
ADDRESSES: By mail, submit written comments in triplicate to: Public
Information and Records Integrity Branch, Information Resources and
Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person,
deliver comments to: Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis
Hwy., Arlington, VA.
Information submitted as a comment concerning this notice may be
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as
Confidential Business Information (CBI). Information so marked will not
be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR
part 2. A copy of the comment that does not contain CBI must be
submitted for inclusion in the public record. Information not marked
confidential will be included in the public docket without prior
notice.
To request a copy of any of the preliminary risk assessments and
related documents listed in this notice, contact or visit the OPP
Pesticide Docket at the addresses given in this unit, or call (703)
305-5805. The Docket staff will inform callers as to which of the
documents can be sent directly from the docket and which need to be
requested from the Freedom of Information Act Office due to their bulk.
The public docket is available for public inspection in Rm. 119 at the
Virginia address given in this unit from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: docket@epa.gov. Follow the instructions under Unit II. of this
document. No CBI should be submitted through e-mail. Copies of the
preliminary risk assessments for the four organophosphate pesticides
may also be accessed at: http: www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Angulo, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (703) 308-8004; e-mail address: angulo.karen@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
EPA is making available preliminary risk assessments that have been
developed as part of EPA's process for making reregistration
eligibility decisions for the organophosphate pesticides and for
tolerance reassessments consistent with the FFDCA as amended by the
FQPA. The Agency's preliminary ecological effects risk assessments for
the following four organophosphate pesticides are available in the
individual pesticide dockets: Ethoprop, temephos, and terbufos. The
Agency's preliminary human health and ecological effects risk
assessments for methyl parathion are also available in the docket.
Included in the individual pesticide dockets are the Agency's
preliminary risk assessments. As additional comments, reviews, and risk
assessment modifications become available, these will also be docketed
for the four organophosphate pesticides listed in this notice. The
Agency cautions that these risk assessments are preliminary assessments
only and that further refinements of the risk assessments will be
appropriate for some, if not all, of these four pesticides. These
documents reflect only the work and analysis conducted as of the time
they were produced and it is appropriate that, as new information
becomes available and/
[[Page 70127]]
or additional analyses are performed, the conclusions they contain may
change.
As the preliminary risk assessments for the remaining
organophosphate pesticides are completed and registrants are given a
30-day review period to identify possible computational or other clear
errors in the risk assessment, these risk assessments and registrant
responses will be placed in the individual pesticide dockets. A notice
of availability for subsequent assessments will appear in the Federal
Register.
To provide users with the most recent information on the four
organophosphates, EPA has also included in each docket the Agency's
July 7, 1998, ``Hazard Assessment of the Organophosphates'' and the
Agency's July 9, 1998, ``FQPA Safety Factor Recommendations for the
Organophosphates.'' In general, these two documents were completed at a
different time than the four individual pesticide preliminary risk
assessments discussed in this notice. The Agency notes that where the
preliminary risk assessments are inconsistent with the Hazard
Assessment and FQPA Assessment, these Assessments will supersede the
relevant portions of the preliminary risk assessments and will be
incorporated into the revised individual pesticide risk assessments.
The Agency also notes that these documents reflect only the work and
analysis conducted as of the time they were produced, and as new
information becomes available and/or additional analyses are performed,
the conclusions they contain may change.
The Agency is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide written comments and input to the Agency
on the preliminary risk assessments for the chemicals specified in this
notice. Such comments and input could address, for example, the
availability of additional data to further refine the risk assessments,
such as percent crop treated information or submission of residue data
from food processing studies, or could address the Agency's risk
assessment methodologies and assumptions as applied to these specific
chemicals. Comments should be limited to issues raised within the
preliminary risk assessments and associated documents. EPA will provide
other opportunities for public comment on other science issues
associated with the organophosphate tolerance reassessment program.
Failure to comment on any such issues as part of this opportunity will
in no way prejudice or limit a commenter's opportunity to participate
fully in later notice and comment processes. All comments should be
submitted by February 16, 1999 of the Agency record for each individual
pesticide to which they pertain.
II. Public Record and Electronic Submissions
The official record for this notice, as well as the public version,
has been established for this notice under the following docket control
numbers. When submitting written or electronic comments regarding the
four organophosphates, use the following docket control numbers:
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Chemical OPP Docket No.
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Ethoprop OPP-34144A
Methyl parathion OPP-34161
Temephos OPP-34147A
Terbufos OPP-34139A
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A public version of this record, including printed, paper versions
of electronic comments, which does not include any information claimed
as CBI, is available for inspection from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The official record is
located at the Virginia address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of
this document.
Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
opp-docket@epa.gov
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comment and data
will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 file format or
ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic form must be
identified by the appropriate docket control number OPP-34158.
Electronic comments on this notice may be filed online at many Federal
Depository Libraries.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: December 14, 1998.
Jack E. Housenger,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-33631 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
