[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 16813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8962]
[[Page 16813]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5991-6]
Technical Workshop on Selecting Input Distributions for
Probabilistic Assessments
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a workshop on issues related to using
probability distributions to represent exposure factors in
probabilistic risk assessments. Experts from industry and academia as
well as practitioners from state and federal agencies will convene to
discuss these issues. The workshop will be open to members of the
public as observers.
DATES: The meeting will begin on Tuesday, April 21, 1998, at 8:00 a.m.
and end on Wednesday, April 22, 1998, at 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the EPA Region II Headquarters
offices, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. Eastern Research Group,
Inc., an EPA contractor, will convene and facilitate the workshop. To
attend the workshop as an observer, contact Eastern Research Group,
Inc., Tel: (781) 674-7374. You may also obtain additional information
and register by visiting the National Center for Environmental
Assessment HomePage at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/calendar.htm. Space is
limited so please register early.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning the
Workshop on Selecting Input Distributions, please contact Marian Olsen,
U.S. EPA Region II, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007, Telephone (212)
637-4313 or Steven Knott, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development
(8601-D), 401 M St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20460, Telephone (202) 564-
3359.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 15, 1997, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator signed the Agency's
``Policy for Use of Probabilistic Analysis in Risk Assessment.'' This
policy establishes the Agency's position that ``such probabilistic
analysis techniques as Monte Carlo Analysis, given adequate supporting
data and credible assumptions, can be viable statistical tools for
analyzing variability and uncertainty in risk assessments.'' The policy
also identifies several implementation activities designed to assist
Agency assessors with their review and preparation of probabilistic
assessments. These activities include a commitment by the EPA Risk
Assessment Forum (RAF) to organize workshops or colloquia to facilitate
the development of distributions for exposure factors.
In the Summer of 1997, a technical panel, convened under the
auspices of the RAF, began work on a framework for selecting input
distributions for use in Monte Carlo analyses. The framework emphasized
parametric methods and was organized around three fundamental
activities: selecting candidate theoretical distributions, estimating
the parameters of the candidate distributions, and evaluating the
quality of the fit of the candidate distributions. Application of this
framework to three exposure factors highlighted several issues. These
issues resolve into two broad categories: issues associated with the
representativeness of the data, and issues associated with using the
Empirical Distribution Function (or resampling techniques) versus using
a theoretical Parametric Distribution Function. These issues will be
the focal point for discussions during this workshop. The goal of the
Workshop is to provide a forum for expert discussions on these issues.
Eastern Research Group, Inc. will take notes during these discussions
and will produce a Workshop report. The information obtained through
these discussions will be considered by EPA as work continues on the
development of a framework and guidance for selecting input
distributions for probabilistic risk assessments.
Dated: April 1, 1998.
William H. Farland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 98-8962 Filed 4-3-98; 8:45 am]
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