02-32389. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR No. 0575.09 (OMB No. 2070-0004) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Health and Safety Data Reporting, Submission of Lists and Copies of Health and Safety Studies [EPA ICR No. 0575.09; OMB Control No. 2070-0004]. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated cost and burden. On May 21, 2002 (67 FR 35806), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before January 23, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Follow the detailed instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barbara Cunningham, Acting Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7408, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-554-1404; e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OPPT-2002-0014, which is available for public viewing at the OPPT Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West Building Basement Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed instructions:

(1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: Document Control Office (DCO), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 7407M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OPPT-2002-0014, and (2) Mail a copy of your comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET.

Title: Health and Safety Data Reporting, Submission of Lists and Copies of Health and Safety Studies (EPA ICR No. 0575.09; OMB Control No. 2070-0004). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection that is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2003. Under the PRA regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.

Abstract: Section 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and 40 CFR part 716 require manufacturers and processors of chemicals to submit lists and copies of health and safety studies relating to the health and/or environmental effects of certain chemical substances and mixtures. In order to comply with the reporting requirements of section 8(d), respondents must search their records to identify any health and safety studies in their possession, copy and process relevant studies, list studies that are currently in progress, and submit this information to EPA.

EPA uses this information to construct a complete picture of the known effects of the chemicals in question, leading to determinations by EPA of whether additional testing of the chemicals is required. The information enables EPA to base its testing decisions on the most complete information available and to avoid demands for testing that may be duplicative. EPA will use information obtained via this collection to support its investigation of the risks posed by chemicals and, in particular, to support its decisions on whether to require industry to test chemicals under section 4 of TSCA.

Responses to the collection of information are mandatory (see 40 CFR part 716). Respondents may claim all or part of a notice confidential. EPA will disclose information that is covered by a claim of confidentiality only to the extent permitted by, and in accordance with, the procedures in TSCA section 14 and 40 CFR part 2.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be about 4 hours per response. Burden means the total time, effort or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Respondents/Affected Entities: Manufacturers, processors, importers, or distributers in commerce of chemical substances or mixtures.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Estimated No. of Respondents: 569.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,344 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Costs: $203,512.

Changes in Burden Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,198 hours (from 4,542 hours to 2,344 hours) in the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in the information collection request most recently approved by OMB. This adjustment results from an updated analysis of the historical reporting patterns and the number of chemicals listed on the section 8(d) reporting rule. Specifically, because no new chemicals were added to the rule during the previous ICR reporting period, the number of chemicals added during the 1993 through 1996 period were averaged over eight-years (1993 through 2000) to provide an estimate of expected reporting over the coming three-year period of this ICR renewal. Unit burden estimates have not changed.

Dated: December 17, 2002.

Oscar Morales,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.