E8-14521. Draft Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of Public Comment Period.

SUMMARY:

EPA is announcing a 90-day public comment period for the draft document entitled, “Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)” (EPA/635/R-08/011A). The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development. The draft tetrachloroethylene health assessment addresses both potential cancer and non-cancer human health effects that may result from chronic exposure to tetrachloroethylene. Tetrachloroethylene, commonly referred to as “perc”, is a solvent widely used in the dry cleaning of clothes and as a metal degreaser.

EPA intends to consider comments and recommendations from the public and the expert panel meeting, which will be announced at a later date, when EPA finalizes the draft document. The public comment period will provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. EPA intends to forward public comments, submitted in accordance with this notice, to the external peer-review panel prior to the peer review meeting for their consideration.

EPA is releasing this 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.

The draft document is available via the Internet on NCEA's homepage under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/​ncea.

DATES:

The 90-day public comment period begins June 26, 2008, and ends September 24, 2008. Technical comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by September 24, 2008. EPA intends to submit comments from the public received by this date for consideration by the external peer review panel.

The draft tetrachloroethylene assessment will be independently peer reviewed by an expert panel convened by The National Academies' Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). Information on the first meeting of the BEST tetrachloroethylene panel, expected to be held in late fall 2008, will be posted on The National Academies' Web site at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/​cp/​projectview.aspx?​key=​48697. Note that due to the need to provide the public comments to the peer review panel one month prior to their first meeting, an extension of the public comment beyond the 90 days provided will not be possible. EPA has lengthened the comment period for tetrachloroethylene beyond the usual 60 days allotted for IRIS assessments because of the expected high interest in this draft assessment.

ADDRESSES:

The draft “Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)” is available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/​ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available by contacting the Information Management Team, NCEA; telephone: [phone]; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title, “Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).”

Comments may be submitted electronically via http://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].

For technical information on the draft assessment, contact the Information Management Team by (phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; or e-mail: [e-mail]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary Information About the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

IRIS is a database that contains potential adverse human health effects information 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 540 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 non-cancer health effects, and oral slope factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. Combined with exposure information, government and private entities use IRIS to help characterize the public health risks of chemical substances and thereby support risk management decisions designed to protect public health.

II. How to Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2008-0461, by one of the following methods:

• http://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-2008-0461. 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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://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 www.epa.gov/​epahome/​dockets.htm.

Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

Dated: June 20, 2008.

Rebecca Clark,

Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.