[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38450-38452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18766]
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[[Page 38451]]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[ATSDR-111]
Notice of the Draft Priority List of Hazardous Substances at
Department of Energy National Priorities List Sites That May be the
Subject of Toxicological Profiles
AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR),
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
has prepared a priority list of hazardous substances found on certain
Department of Energy (DOE) sites. This list is similar to the priority
list of hazardous substances prepared by ATSDR, in cooperation with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the authority of section
104(i)(3) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), as amended by the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) [42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(3)]. This
act requires ATSDR and EPA to prepare a list, in order of priority, of
substances that are most commonly found among all facilities on the
National Priorities List (NPL) and which are determined to pose the
most significant potential threat to human health (see 52 FR 12866,
April 17, 1987). This list is used to determine the order in which
ATSDR's toxicological profiles are to be developed for the substances,
and is based on three components: frequency of occurrence, toxicity,
and human exposure potential of the substances found at NPL sites.
In developing the priority list of hazardous substances at DOE NPL
sites, ATSDR used the same methodology as that for the CERCLA priority
list, with the algorithm modified slightly. Consequently, this list is
based on the substances' frequency of occurrence at DOE NPL sites,
toxicity, and human exposure potential. This two-part list, that
includes radionuclides (n=50) and nonradionuclides (n=150), will
provide a mechanism for prioritizing the selection of candidate
substances for the potential development of toxicological profiles by
ATSDR. Of the 150 nonradionuclides listed, 121 are currently the
subject of toxicological profiles. Of the 50 radionuclides listed, 4
toxicological profiles (Uranium, Thorium, Plutonium and Radium) have
been developed.
This announcement provides notice that ATSDR has developed and is
making available a draft document entitled Priority List of Hazardous
Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document. This priority list
includes substances that have been determined to pose the most
significant potential threat to human health at or around 22 DOE NPL
hazardous waste sites.
DATES: Comments concerning this notice must be received by August 23,
1996.
ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the draft Priority List of Hazardous
Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document, or comments on this
notice, should bear the docket control number ATSDR-111 and should be
sent to the attention of Dr. Jim Holler, Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry, Division of Toxicology, Emergency Response and
Scientific Assessment Branch, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29,
Atlanta, Georgia 30333. Requests for the draft Priority List of
Hazardous Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document must be in
writing.
Comments on this notice will be available for public inspection
when the priority list is issued in final at the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, Building 4, Executive Park Drive,
Atlanta, Georgia (not a mailing address), from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays. Because all
public comments are available for public inspection, no confidential
business information should be submitted in response to this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, Division of Toxicology, Emergency Response and
Scientific Assessment Branch, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29,
Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone (404) 639-6300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The sources of the substance information
used in developing this priority list include DOE NPL site-specific
documents submitted to ATSDR by EPA, State agencies, and other parties.
ATSDR abstracted information from these site file documents, which
contained information on substances found in various environmental
media. This abstracted information was then entered into ATSDR's
Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database (HazDat). More than
100 documents have been abstracted, resulting in approximately 19,000
records entered into HazDat.
The ranking of substances on the Priority List of Hazardous
Substances at DOE NPL sites is based on three criteria, which are
combined to calculate the total score. ATSDR believes that the
following three criteria are most relevant to public health: (1)
Frequency of occurrence at DOE NPL sites--The presence of a substance
in at least one environmental medium per operable unit at a DOE site
constitutes one occurrence. A log scale approach was used to determine
the frequency points. (2) Toxicity--If available, final reportable
quantities (RQs) are used to assess the toxicity of nonradioactive
substances during the listing activity. If a final RQ is not available,
the RQ methodology is applied to candidate substances to establish a
Toxicity/Environmental Score (TES). The TES is only used in scoring the
substances regarding their toxicity, and does not represent regulatory
amounts. For radioactive substances, the toxicity was based on a
combination of the Annual Limits on Intake and the external exposure
potential. (3) Potential for human exposure--The exposure component is
based on the concentration of the substances in environmental media at
the site. A relative source contribution is calculated for each
substance. This component does not include the exposure status
subcomponent that is included in the CERCLA priority listing algorithm
because of a paucity of data on exposure status in the documents
examined.
Using these three criteria, ATSDR ranked the hazard potential of
each candidate substance according to the following algorithm:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24JY96.003
[[Page 38452]]
Substances were ordinally ranked based on their total score, with
radionuclides and nonradionuclides ranked separately. The 470 candidate
substances considered for the Priority List of Hazardous Substances at
DOE NPL sites are those substances present at 22 DOE NPL sites, as
indicated in site file documents. The 22 sites consist of 134 operable
units.
The 22 DOE NPL sites included in this listing activity are as
follows: Bonneville Power Authority; Brookhaven National Laboratory;
Fernald Environmental Management Project; Hanford 100; Hanford 200;
Hanford 300; Hanford 1100; Idaho National Engineering Laboratory;
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory--Site 300; Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory--Main Site; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Maywood
Interim Storage Site; Monticello Mine Tailings; Mound Plant; Oak Ridge
Reservation; Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant; Pantex; Portsmouth
Gaseous Diffusion Plant; Rocky Flats Plant; Savannah River Site; WR
Grace/Wayne Interim Storage Site; and Weldon Springs Site.
This priority list includes 50 radionuclide and 150 non-
radionuclide substances that ATSDR has determined pose the most
significant potential threat to human health. All candidate substances
have been analyzed and ranked with the algorithm described previously.
Substances on this priority list may become the subject of
toxicological profiles prepared by ATSDR.
Dated: July 18, 1996.
Claire V. Broome,
Deputy Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The top 20 radionuclides and top 20 nonradionuclides on the
Priority List of Hazardous Substances at DOE NPL Sites are as follows:
Radionuclides:
1 THORIUM-232
2 URANIUM-235
3 RADIUM-228
4 URANIUM-238
5 RADIUM-226
6 COBALT-60
7 KRYPTON-85
8 AMERICIUM-241
9 URANIUM-234
10 POTASSIUM-40
11 EUROPIUM-152
12 NEPTUNIUM-237
13 CESIUM-137
14 PROTACTINIUM-231
15 STRONTIUM-90
16 KRYPTON-88
17 THALLIUM-208
18 THORIUM-228
19 PROTACTINIUM-234
20 ARGON-41
NonRadionuclides:
1 LEAD
2 ARSENIC
3 MERCURY, METALLIC
4 AROCLOR 1254
5 BENZO(B)FLUORANTHENE
6 BENZO(A)PYRENE
7 AROCLOR 1248
8 CADMIUM
9 BERYLLIUM
10 PHOSPHORUS
11 VINYL CHLORIDE
12 AROCLOR 1260
13 POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
14 CHLOROFORM
15 DIBENZO(A,H)ANTHRACENE
16 DIELDRIN
17 MANGANESE
18 CYANIDE
19 NICKEL
20 BENZENE
[FR Doc. 96-18766 Filed 7-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P
