[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7454-7455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4028]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 764
[OPPTS-62089A; FRL-5349-4]
RIN 2070-AC17
Re-opening of Rulemaking Record on Proposed Ban of Acrylamide and
N-methylolacrylamide Grouts
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Action: Re-opening of rulemaking record and request for comment.
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Summary: This Notice re-opens the rulemaking record for 30 days on the
proposed rule banning acrylamide and NMA grouts. The rulemaking record
is being re-opened in order to obtain data bearing on the durability of
NMA grouts relative to acrylamide grouts.
Dates: Submitted data must be received on or before March 29, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments and data should be sent to: Document Control Office
(7407), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Rm. E-G99,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
The envelope should be marked attention: ``Grout Durability Data.''
For Further Information Contact: Susan B. Hazen, Director,
Environmental Assistance Division (7408), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. E-543, 401
M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 554-1404, TDD: (202)
554-0551, e-mail: TSCA-Hotline@epamail.epa.gov.
Supplementary Information: EPA proposed a rule in the Federal Register
of October 2, 1991 (FR 56 49863), that would have ultimately banned all
manufacture, importation, distribution and use of acrylamide and N-
methylolacrylamide (NMA) grouts. The public comment period closed in
March of 1992, and a Public Hearing was held on March 2, 1992. The
Agency is now considering dropping NMA from the regulation.
Both acrylamide and NMA grouts are used mainly to prevent the
infiltration of ground and surface water into sewer systems, in order
to maintain the functional capacity of sewer water treatment works. The
grouts are injected into joints, cracks and fissures in sewer lines and
manholes. Following application, these grouts solidify into a stiff
impervious gel. Sewer line sealing entails sealing main and lateral
sewer line pipes and joints remotely using closed-circuit video
cameras, an inflatable packer, and a grout delivery system. Manhole
sealing is accomplished manually by a worker using a hand-held device
to inject grouts into holes that have been drilled into the sides of
manholes. Grouts have two additional minor uses: structural water
control and geotechnical applications.
Acrylamide grouts generally consist of a 19:1 mixture of acrylamide
and a cross-linking agent. The grout is prepared by adding water and
small amounts of other chemicals, including catalysts, activators or
accelerators, and inhibitors. In gel form, the grout contains less than
0.05 percent free acrylamide. These grouts were first introduced into
U.S. commerce about 40 years ago, and quickly became popular because of
their low cost and superior performance. Acrylamide grouts are first
mixed into a solution formed by combining the grout with
triethanolamine, an activator, and water. A separate solution of
ammonium persulfate, an initiator, and water is also required. When the
grout solution and the initiator solution are mixed together, they
react to form a stiff polymerized gel.
NMA grouts were explicitly developed as a substitute for the more
hazardous acrylamide grouts, and have been in use for about 9 years.
Commercial NMA is a chemical mixture consisting of about 90 percent N-
methylolacrylamide monomer and small amounts of acrylamide,
formaldehyde, and methylene bisacrylamide. NMA grouts are mixed in the
same way as acrylamide grouts, except that sodium persulfate is used as
the initiator rather than ammonium persulfate. They are applied in the
same manner as acrylamide grouts, using the same equipment for
generally the same applications.
Although the rule proposed in 1991 would have ultimately banned
both acrylamide grouts and NMA grouts, the Agency is now leaning
heavily toward dropping NMA from the rule because of: (1) NMA's lower
toxicity relative to acrylamide; (2) a lowered estimate of the size of
the population at risk; (3) NMA's efficacy as a substitute for
acrylamide grouts; and (4) NMA's low cost relative to other potential
substitutes. Based upon these four factors, EPA is re-considering its
earlier conclusion that NMA grouts present an unreasonable risk. Of the
four factors, the only one about which there may be some doubt is the
third--the efficacy of NMA as a substitute for acrylamide. The only
question in this regard, moreover, has to do with the relative
durability of NMA--i.e., will joints, cracks, and other fissures sealed
with NMA grouts remain sealed as long as those sealed with acrylamide
grouts, all else being equal.
Although the information presently available to the Agency suggests
that the two grouts are equally durable, some have questioned whether
this is the case. Specifically, the National Association of Sewer
Service Companies (NASSCO) submitted two letters, dated August 15 and
17, 1995, that they asserted call into question the relative durability
of NMA grouts. Both submissions are being made a part of the rulemaking
record, and are available for inspection in the public docket. At a
subsequent meeting held with NASSCO on October 3, 1995, however, they
agreed that the submitted data do not indicate that NMA grouts are less
durable than acrylamide grouts. Although the NASSCO representatives
then agreed to submit such data, none has been received to date. A
summary of that meeting has also been placed into the public docket. In
view of the foregoing, and in order to obtain the best information
available on this specific issue, the Agency is re-opening the
rulemaking record for 30 days, and requesting any empirical and
reliable
[[Page 7455]]
data anyone may have regarding the durability of NMA grouts relative to
acrylamide grouts. Useful information, for this purpose, would include
controlled experimental data that explicitly compare the potential
longevity of NMA grouts to acrylamide grouts under verifiable and
replicable conditions. Other data will be considered to the extent that
they are reliable and permit direct comparison of the durability of
acrylamide to NMA grouts. In contrast, anecdotal information regarding
experiences with these grouts following application in sewers or
manholes will generally not be useful. Such extraneous factors as the
competence of the grouters, the quality of their equipment and grouting
material, the conditions of the pipes being grouted, the nature of the
surrounding soil, and the frequency and rigor of follow-up inspections
shape these real world outcomes more than the particular grout used. In
addition, such data cannot address the relative durability of the two
grouts, since only one is generally applied in any given operation.
Submitted information will be most useful if provided with
sufficient documentation to ensure credibility. Such documentation
would include:
1. Copies of the original research.
2. Quality assurance plans prepared for the research.
3. Peer reviews conducted on the research.
4. The statistical significance of the findings.
5. Copies, or at least citations, of any research replicated by the
submitted research.
6. Statements regarding agreement or conflict with other research.
7. Discussion of the practical significance of the findings.
In addition, the Agency is interested in promotional material that
sellers of acrylamide and NMA grouts (both importers and grouters) make
available to purchasers in which the grouting properties of the
chemicals are discussed, and annual sales volume data, in comparable
units, for both acrylamide and NMA grouts since NMA was introduced onto
the market. Sales information would be particularly helpful if broken
down by use (i.e., sewer lines, manholes, etc.).
EPA is re-opening the record to solicit information concerning the
relative durability and efficacy of acrylamide and NMA because the
Agency has received recent assertions that credible information
relating to this subject exists, but has never been provided to the
Agency. EPA has not received any suggestions that other new information
exists that may materially affect some issue relevant to this
rulemaking other than the relative durability of acrylamide and NMA. If
any person has material information, which was not previously
submitted, relating to any other issue relevant to the determination of
whether acrylamide and/or NMA grouts present an unreasonable risk to
health or the environment, that information may be submitted during the
comment period. For example, any neurotoxicity information with regard
to acrylamide and NMA. Such submissions should be accompanied by a
brief cover letter explaining why the submitter considers the
information relevant to this rulemaking and why the information was not
submitted during the initial comment period. If significant new
information on other issues is presented during the comment period,
that information may be considered by the Agency in its preparation of
a final rule. If any person believes it necessary to respond to any new
information submitted during this comment period, a response to the new
information may be submitted within 2 weeks of the close of the comment
period.
Anyone responding to this request for information may assert a
claim of confidentiality for the information submitted. Any claim of
confidentiality must accompany the information when it is submitted to
EPA. Information claimed as confidential must be clearly marked with
the statement ``Confidential,'' ``Trade Secret,'' or other appropriate
designation. EPA will disclose information subject to a claim of
confidentiality only to the extent permitted by TSCA section 14 and 40
CFR part 2, subpart B. If a person does not assert a claim of
confidentiality for information at the time it is submitted to EPA, EPA
may make the information public without further notice to that person.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Acrylamide and N-methylolacrylamide,
Reporting and recordkeeping.
Dated: February 13, 1996.
Lynn R. Goldman,
Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances.
[FR Doc. 96-4028 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
