96-7041. Consumer Labeling Initiative; Notice of Project Initiation

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 57 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12012-12013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7041]




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Part VI





Environmental Protection Agency





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Consumer Labeling Initiative; Notice of Project Initiation; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 57 / Friday, March 22, 1996 / 
Notices
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-00169; FRL-4956-8]


Consumer Labeling Initiative; Notice of Project Initiation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is launching a voluntary Consumer Labeling Initiative 
(CLI) pilot project to invite ideas from its customers, including 
consumers, industry, and health and safety professionals, on ways to 
improve the environmental, health, and safe use information appearing 
on household product labels, specifically home and garden pesticides 
and household hard surface cleaners. The project goal is to ensure that 
consumers have and understand the information they need in order to 
make responsible product choices based on their own needs and values, 
and to use chosen products safely as directed. This voluntary project 
is not intended to produce new regulations or mandatory requirements.

DATES: Written submissions must be received on or before April 22, 
1996.

ADDRESSES: All nonconfidential submissions should be sent to: OPPT 
Document Control Officer (7407), AR-139 - Consumer Labeling Initiative, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Nonconfidential submissions will be placed in the Administrative 
Record, file number AR-139, for public inspection. Persons interested 
in reviewing the record should contact the TSCA Nonconfidential 
Information Center (NCIC), NE Mall Rm. B-607, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, [phone]. The TSCA NCIC is open from noon 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. See the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION unit of this document for information on 
submitting comments containing confidential business information (CBI).
    Information may also be submitted electronically by sending 
electronic mail (e-mail) to: [e-mail].. Electronic 
communications must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption. Submissions will also be 
accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1 file format or ASCII file 
format. All submissions in electronic form must be identified by the 
file number ``AR-139.'' No CBI should be submitted through e-mail. 
Electronic comments on this notice may be filed online at many Federal 
Depository Libraries. Additional information on electronic submissions 
can be found in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION unit of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary F. Dominiak, CLI Task Force Co-
Chair, Chemical Control Division (7405), Office of Pollution Prevention 
and Toxics, Rm. E-209B, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 
260-3068.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is interested in improving the labeling 
of products used in the home. Of particular concern are labels of 
pesticide products which are often difficult to understand and 
inconsistent with non-pesticide products of similar composition, such 
as cleaners. EPA is proposing that the CLI examine labeling of certain 
non-pesticide household products to instruct this effort, and to seek 
ways in which the consumer can be better served by the way information 
is presented on like kinds of products. EPA is not proposing to 
duplicate efforts of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and 
in fact has included CPSC in the CLI Task Force to both learn from the 
Agency's experience, and to avoid any potential unnecessary overlap 
between EPA and CPSC. Specifically, EPA is not planning to propose 
regulatory changes to non-pesticide household product labeling which is 
already under the purview of CPSC. The CLI is a voluntary, partnership 
effort in the spirit of reinventing government to find better ways to 
serve industry and consumer customers. The CLI is intended to make it 
easier for consumers to find and understand environmental, health, and 
safe use information on household chemical product labels. The CLI 
pilot project will focus on home and garden pesticides and on household 
hard surface cleaners, including disinfectant and antimicrobial 
cleaning products.
    EPA has formed a special State and Federal CLI Task Force including 
representatives from the CPSC, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Vermont Agency of Natural 
Resources, the California Office of Environmental Health and Hazard 
Assessment, the American Association of Pest Control Officials (AAPCO), 
and the Forum of State and Tribal Toxic Actions (FOSTTA). Through the 
CLI Task Force, EPA will closely coordinate with other regulatory 
agencies responsible for consumer labeling in order to learn from their 
experiences and to avoid duplicating or interfering with their existing 
regulatory programs and requirements. The Task Force will seek 
voluntary approaches for achieving its goals and will cooperate across 
Federal and State programs and with international, industry, consumer, 
and environmental groups. New regulations and mandatory requirements 
are not the intended outcome of the CLI, but the project may recommend 
subsequent rulemaking to amend existing FIFRA regulations in order to 
remove barriers to label improvements suggested by the CLI for 
household pesticide products.
    The pilot project will focus on assessing consumer needs regarding 
labeling as it relates to the use and disposal of home and garden 
pesticides and household hard surface cleaners, including disinfectant 
and antimicrobial products. The Task Force will assist EPA in: (1) 
Identifying and inviting input from the diverse stakeholders who are 
interested in the issues, including companies and organizations 
interested in becoming partners in exploring the issues of label 
improvement; (2) conducting focus groups to ask consumers directly how 
to improve both the content and presentation of environmental, health, 
and safe use information on labels; and (3) conducting a review of the 
existing literature to update and expand the current understanding of 
consumer-related product labeling. This information will be used by EPA 
to generate options and recommendations to the Administrator for future 
private and Agency action to bring about label improvement.
    Additional details and descriptive materials on this project can be 
obtained by calling the number appearing in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Interested parties are invited to help by providing 
information regarding existing research on consumer labeling issues. 
Producers of household consumer products who are interested in becoming 
industry partners in this project are invited to call and identify 
themselves. Industry partners may be asked to share their knowledge of 
the scientific, marketing, economic, and other factors affecting 
product labeling, and to take leadership roles, e.g., piloting 
potential labeling improvements.
    An administrative record has been established for this project 
under file number ``AR-139.'' A public version of this record, 
including printed, paper versions of electronic submissions, which does 
not include any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection 
from noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. 
The public record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information 
Center, Rm. NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

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    Electronic submissions can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [e-mail]
    Electronic information must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding 
the use of special characters and any form of encryption.
    The official record for this project, as well as the public 
version, as described above, will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, 
EPA will transfer all submissions received electronically into printed, 
paper form as they are received and will place the paper copies in the 
official record which will also include all information submitted 
directly in writing. The official record is the paper record maintained 
at the address in ADDRESSES at the beginning of this document.
    Any person who submits written information containing CBI must mark 
the submission as ``Confidential Business Information.'' Submissions 
not claimed as confidential at the time of submission will be placed in 
the public file. Any submissions marked as ``Confidential Business 
Information'' will be treated in accordance with the procedures in 40 
CFR part 2. Any party submitting information claimed to be CBI must 
prepare and separately submit a public version of the information that 
EPA can place in the public file. CBI information should be submitted 
in triplicate to Document Control Office (7407), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. CBI 
submissions should be mailed in a double envelope with ``CBI'' and the 
Administrative Record file number AR-139 marked on the inner envelope, 
and the submission should be marked with Administrative Record file 
number AR-139.

    Dated: March 5, 1996.
Lynn R. Goldman,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.
[FR Doc. 96-7041 Filed 3-21-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F