82 FR 6545 - Risk Evaluation Scoping Efforts Under TSCA for Ten Chemical Substances; Notice of Public Meeting

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 12 (January 19, 2017)

EPA will hold a public meeting to receive input and information to assist the Agency in its efforts to establish the scope of risk evaluations under development for the ten chemical substances designated on December 19, 2016 for risk evaluations pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. In particular, EPA is providing the public an opportunity to identify information specifically related to the conditions of use for the ten chemical substances (i.e., the circumstances under which a chemical substance is intended, known, or reasonably foreseen to be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of). EPA plans to use this information as it develops the scoping documents for the TSCA risk evaluations of the ten chemical substances; these scoping documents must be issued within six months of the Federal Register notice that designated the chemical substances for a TSCA risk evaluation (i.e., for these ten chemical substances, the scoping documents must be issued by June 19, 2017).

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6545-6546]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01236]



[[Page 6545]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0002; FRL-9958-33]


Risk Evaluation Scoping Efforts Under TSCA for Ten Chemical 
Substances; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA will hold a public meeting to receive input and 
information to assist the Agency in its efforts to establish the scope 
of risk evaluations under development for the ten chemical substances 
designated on December 19, 2016 for risk evaluations pursuant to the 
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. 
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. In particular, EPA 
is providing the public an opportunity to identify information 
specifically related to the conditions of use for the ten chemical 
substances (i.e., the circumstances under which a chemical substance is 
intended, known, or reasonably foreseen to be manufactured, processed, 
distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of). EPA plans to use this 
information as it develops the scoping documents for the TSCA risk 
evaluations of the ten chemical substances; these scoping documents 
must be issued within six months of the Federal Register notice that 
designated the chemical substances for a TSCA risk evaluation (i.e., 
for these ten chemical substances, the scoping documents must be issued 
by June 19, 2017).

DATES: Meeting Date. The meeting will be held on February 14, 2017 from 
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
    To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the 
meeting logistics person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT, 
preferably by February 3, 2017, to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.
    Meeting Registration. You may register online (preferred) or in 
person at the meeting. To register online, for the meeting, go to: 
https://tscachemicaluse.eventbrite.com. Advance registration for the 
meeting must be completed no later than February 10, 2017. On-site 
registration will be permitted, but seating and speaking priority will 
be given to those who pre-register by the deadline.
    Comments. EPA will hear oral comments at the meeting, and will 
accept written comments and materials submitted to the dockets on or 
before March 1, 2017. For further information about participation and 
submitting materials, see Unit IV. under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Ronald Reagan 
Building and International Trade Center, in the Polaris Room, located 
at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20004. The 
meeting will also be available by remote access for registered 
participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact: 
Sheila Canavan, Chemical Control Division, Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 566-1978; email address: [email protected].
    For meeting logistics or registration contact: Klara Zimmerman; 
telephone number: (301) 634-1722; email address: 
[email protected].
    For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 
422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 
554-1404; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you manufacture 
(defined under TSCA to include import), process, distribute in 
commerce, use or dispose of any of the ten chemical substances 
identified for risk evaluation in the Federal Register notice published 
on December 19, 2016, entitled ``Designation of Ten Chemical Substances 
for Initial Risk Evaluations Under the Toxic Substances Control Act'' 
(81 FR 91927). This action may be of particular interest to entities 
that are regulated under TSCA (e.g., entities identified under North 
American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes 325 and 324110, 
among others). Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities and 
corresponding NAICS codes for entities that may be interested in or 
affected by this action.

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    The docket for this meeting, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0002, is available at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 
Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center 
(EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The 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, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 566-
0280. Please review the visitor instructions and additional information 
about the docket available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. Background

    EPA is required to conduct chemical risk evaluations under section 
6(b) the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank 
R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, to determine 
whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to 
health or the environment. (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)(4)). Pursuant to TSCA 
section 6(b)(2)(A), EPA identified ten chemical substances for initial 
risk evaluations under TSCA in the Federal Register notice of December 
19, 2016, entitled ``Designation of Ten Chemical Substances for Initial 
Risk Evaluations Under the Toxic Substances Control Act'' (81 FR 91927) 
(FRL-9956-47).
    The first step in the risk evaluation process, as outlined in TSCA, 
is to issue a scoping document for each chemical substance within six 
months of its designation in the Federal Register. TSCA section 
6(b)(4)(B) also directs EPA to establish, by a rulemaking promulgated 
within one year of enactment, a process for conducting risk 
evaluations, which includes the process for issuing scoping documents. 
The Agency expects to propose such a procedural rule shortly, which 
will be applicable to risk evaluations once finalized. However, TSCA 
directed EPA to concurrently ensure that risk evaluations were being 
conducted on ten chemical substances by December 19, 2016. As a result, 
EPA must publish scoping documents for these initial ten chemical 
substances by June 19, 2017, which is before the procedural rule is 
expected to be finalized. Accordingly, EPA's scoping efforts for these 
ten substances will be based directly on the terms of TSCA section 
6(b)(4)(D), and not the pending procedural rulemaking. Each completed 
scoping document will describe the scope of information about the 
chemical substance that the Agency expects to consider in the risk 
evaluation, including its conditions of use, hazards, and exposures, 
including to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations.
    At the public meeting, EPA will provide an overview briefing to 
describe the information the Agency has

[[Page 6546]]

obtained thus far relating to the conditions of use for the ten 
chemical substances. To assist EPA in this scoping process, EPA is 
providing the public with an opportunity to identify information 
specifically related to the conditions of use (i.e., the circumstances 
under which a chemical substance is intended, known, or reasonably 
foreseen to be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used, 
or disposed of). EPA plans to use this information as it develops 
scoping documents for the TSCA risk evaluations for the ten chemical 
substances.
    In view of the statutory deadline to complete these ten risk 
evaluations, it will be difficult, and may not be possible, for EPA to 
adjust the scope of the evaluations following release of the scoping 
document under TSCA section 6(b)(4)(D). In addition, EPA notes that the 
scoping document is a foundation for determining the scope of 
preemption arising after final risk evaluations (TSCA section 
18(a)(1)(B)). Thus, EPA requests that members of the public provide any 
available information relating to the scope of the risk evaluations at 
the February meeting or to the docket by March 1, 2017. EPA will likely 
not be able to accommodate information as to scope received after that 
time.

III. Meeting

A. Remote Access

    The meeting will be accessible remotely for registered 
participants. Registered participants will receive information on how 
to connect remotely to the meeting prior to its start.

B. Public Participation at the Meeting

    Anyone may register to attend the meeting as observers and may also 
register to provide oral comments on the day of the meeting. A 
registered speaker is encouraged to focus on issues directly relevant 
to the meeting's subject matter. Each speaker is allowed no more than 5 
minutes to provide oral comments. To accommodate as many registered 
speakers as possible, speakers may present oral comments only, without 
visual aids or written material.

C. Submitting Written Materials

    Anyone may submit written materials to the dockets described in 
Unit IV.C.

IV. How can I request to participate in this meeting?

A. Registration

    To attend the meeting in person or to receive remote access, you 
must register no later than February 10, 2017, using one of the methods 
described under ADDRESSES. While on-site registration will be 
available, seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with 
priority given to early registrants, until room capacity is reached. 
The Agency anticipates that approximately 125 people will be able to 
attend the meeting in person. For registrants not able to attend in 
person, the meeting will also provide remote access capabilities; 
registered participants will be provided information on how to connect 
to the meeting prior to its start.

B. Required Registration Information

    Members of the public may register to attend as observers or speak 
if planning to offer oral comments during the scheduled public comment 
period. To register for the meeting online, you must provide your full 
name, organization or affiliation, and contact information to the on-
line signup or to the meeting registration contact person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Do not submit any information in your 
request that is considered Confidential Business Information (CBI). 
Requests to participate in the meeting, identified by docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0002, must be received on or before February 10, 2017.

C. Risk Evaluation Dockets for the Ten Chemical Substances

    You may also elect to provide information to EPA's dockets for the 
ten chemical substances for which risk evaluations have begun. EPA has 
established separate dockets for each of the ten chemical substances 
for risk evaluation to facilitate receipt of information which may be 
useful to the Agency's risk evaluations. As noted above, EPA is asking 
the public for assistance in identifying information specifically 
related to the conditions of use (i.e., intended, known or reasonably 
foreseen uses) that would assist the Agency in identifying potential 
exposure scenarios (pathways, routes and populations). EPA is 
requesting that any such information by submitted by March 1, 2017.
    1,4-Dioxane. Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0723.
    1-Bromopropane. Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0741.
    Asbestos. Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0736.
    Carbon Tetrachloride. Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0733.
    Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (Hexabromocyclododecane or HBCD). 
Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0735.
    Methylene Chloride. Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0742.
    N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP). Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0743.
    Pigment Violet 29 (Anthra[2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d'e'f]diisoquinoline-
1,3,8,10(2H,9H)-tetrone). Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0725.
    Trichloroethylene (TCE). Docket ID No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0737.
    Tetrachloroethylene (also known as Perchloroethylene). Docket ID 
No.: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0732.
    Information can be submitted by one of the following methods:
    Online using the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
information or comments. Once submitted, this information cannot be 
edited or withdrawn. EPA may publish any information received to its 
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 
accompanied by a written statement or information. The written 
information should include discussion of all points you wish to make. 
Learn more about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on 
making effective comments or providing useful information by visiting 
EPA's Web site at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
    Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand delivery or 
delivery of boxed information, please follow instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2605.

    Dated: January 12, 2017.
James J. Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2017-01236 Filed 1-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P