E8-4358. Draft Toxicological Review of Propionaldehyde: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

The EPA is announcing a public comment period to review selected sections of the final draft document titled, “Toxicological Review of Propionaldehyde: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)” (EPA/600/R-08/003), related to the human health assessment for Propionaldehyde. The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development.

Public comments submitted to the EPA by May 5, 2008 will be provided to the external peer review panel prior to their meeting (to be announced).

EPA is releasing the draft document solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. EPA will consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.

DATES:

The 60-day public comment period begins on March 6, 2008 and ends May 5, 2008. Technical comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by May 5, 2008. The peer review panel meeting will be announced in a subsequent Federal Register Notice.

ADDRESSES:

The draft “Toxicological Review of Propionaldehyde: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)” (EPA/600/R-08/003) is available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent Additions menu at http://www.epa.gov/​ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available by contacting the IRIS Hotline at [phone], [phone] (facsimile), or [e-mail]. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, the document title, and the EPA number of the requested publication. Technical comments may be submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov,, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; telephone: [phone]; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: [e-mail].

If you have questions about the document, contact John Stanek, Chemical Manager, National Center for Environmental Assessment; telephone: [phone]; facsimile: 919-541-0248; e-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

IRIS is a database that contains scientific Agency positions on potential adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure to specific chemical substances found in the environment. The database (available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/​iris) contains qualitative and quantitative health effects information for more than 500 chemical substances that may be used to support the first two steps (hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk assessment process. When supported by available data, the database provides oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference concentrations (RfCs) for chronic health effects, and oral slope factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. Combined with specific exposure information, government and private entities use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support risk management decisions designed to protect public health.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at www.regulations.gov

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0165, by one of the following methods:

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail].
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752.
• Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0165. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will be marked “late,” and may only be considered if time permits. It is EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket without change and to make the comments available online at www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/​epahome/​dockets.htm.

Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials, such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

Dated: February 28, 2008.

Rebecca Clark,

Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.