80 FR 27166 - Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Chartered Science Advisory Board

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 91 (May 12, 2015)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference to review three draft SAB reports on the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments for ammonia, trimethylbenzenes and ethylene oxide, respectively.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27166-27167]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11448]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9927-57-OA]


Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Chartered Science 
Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference to review 
three draft SAB reports on the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System 
(IRIS) assessments for ammonia, trimethylbenzenes and ethylene oxide, 
respectively.

DATES: The public teleconference for the Chartered SAB will be 
conducted on Monday June 8, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern 
Time).

ADDRESSES: The public teleconference will be conducted by telephone 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain information concerning the public teleconference may contact Mr. 
Thomas Carpenter, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board Staff Office (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; by 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4885 or at [email protected]. 
General information about the SAB as well as any updates concerning the 
teleconference announced in this notice may be found on the EPA Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB was established pursuant to the 
Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization 
Act (ERDDAA), codified at 42 U.S.C. 4365, to provide independent 
scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the technical 
basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a federal 
advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 2. Pursuant to FACA and EPA policy, notice is 
hereby given that the chartered SAB will hold a public teleconference 
to review three draft SAB reports on toxicological assessments for the 
IRIS program. The assessments address ammonia, trimethylbenzenes, and 
ethylene oxide respectively. The chartered SAB will conduct a quality 
review of three draft reports that focus on the scientific and 
technical merit of the assessments. The SAB undertook this review at 
the request of the EPA's Office of Research and Development. Quality 
review is a key function of the chartered SAB. Draft reports prepared 
by SAB committees, panels, or work groups must be reviewed and approved 
by the chartered SAB before transmittal to the EPA Administrator. 
Consistent with FACA, the chartered SAB makes a determination in a 
public meeting about each draft report and determines whether the 
report is ready to be transmitted to the EPA Administrator.
    For EPA's Toxicological Review of Ammonia, ORD evaluated 
epidemiological data, experimental animal data, and other relevant data 
from studies of the noncancer and cancer effects of ammonia. This 
assessment includes an inhalation reference concentration (RfC) and a 
qualitative cancer descriptor. The assessment does not include an oral 
reference dose (RfD) or a quantitative cancer assessment. Information 
about this advisory activity can be found on the Web at http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/

[[Page 27167]]

sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/IRIS%20Ammonia?OpenDocument.
    The second review will focus on an SAB draft report reviewing the 
EPA's Toxicological Review of Trimethylbenzenes. For the 
trimethylbenzenes assessment; including 1,2,3-TMB, 1,2,4-TMB, and 
1,3,5-TMB, ORD evaluated experimental animal data and other relevant 
noncancer data. The assessment includes an inhalation RfC, oral RfD, 
and qualitative cancer descriptor for each isomer. The assessment does 
not include a quantitative cancer assessment. Information about this 
advisory activity can be found on the Web at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/IRIS%20Trimethylbenzenes?OpenDocument.
    The third review will focus on an SAB draft report reviewing the 
EPA's Evaluation of the Inhalation Carcinogenicity of Ethylene Oxide. 
The carcinogenicity assessment of ethylene oxide presents an evaluation 
of the cancer hazard and the derivation of quantitative cancer risk 
estimates from exposure to ethylene oxide by inhalation. The hazard 
assessment includes a review of epidemiologic studies, rodent cancer 
bioassays, and mechanistic studies, e.g., genotoxicity studies. The 
quantitative assessment includes exposure-response modeling for the 
derivation of inhalation unit risk estimates of cancer risk at low 
(generally environmental) exposure concentrations and estimates of the 
cancer risk associated with some occupational exposure scenarios. 
Information about this advisory activity can be found on the Web at 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Eto%20Inhalation%20Carcinogenicity?OpenDocument.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and materials in 
support of these teleconference will be available on the EPA Web site 
at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the teleconference.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Public comment for 
consideration by EPA's federal advisory committees and panels has a 
different purpose from public comment provided to EPA program offices. 
Therefore, the process for submitting comments to a federal advisory 
committee is different from the process used to submit comments to an 
EPA program office.
    Federal advisory committees and panels, including scientific 
advisory committees, provide independent advice to EPA. Members of the 
public can submit comments for a federal advisory committee to consider 
as it develops advice for EPA. Input from the public to the SAB will 
have the most impact if it provides specific scientific or technical 
information or analysis for SAB panels to consider or if it relates to 
the clarity or accuracy of the technical information. Members of the 
public wishing to provide comment should contact the Designated Federal 
Officer as noted above. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or 
groups requesting an oral presentation at a teleconference will be 
limited to three minutes. Each person making an oral statement should 
consider providing written comments as well as their oral statement so 
that the points presented orally can be expanded upon in writing. 
Interested parties should contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter, DFO, in writing 
(preferably via email) at the contact information noted above by June 
1, 2015, to be placed on the list of public speakers. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be supplied to the DFO, 
preferably via email, at the contact information noted above one week 
before the teleconference so that the information may be made available 
to the Board members for their consideration. It is the SAB Staff 
Office general policy to post written comments on the Web page for the 
advisory meeting or teleconference. Submitters are requested to provide 
an unsigned version of each document because the SAB Staff Office does 
not publish documents with signatures on its Web sites. Members of the 
public should be aware that their personal contact information, if 
included in any written comments, may be posted to the SAB Web site. 
Copyrighted material will not be posted without explicit permission of 
the copyright holder.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter at 
(202) 564-4885 or [email protected]. To request accommodation of 
a disability, please contact Mr. Carpenter preferably at least ten days 
prior to the teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: May 5, 2015.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-11448 Filed 5-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P