[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77636-77637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31210]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9238-1]
Public Information Exchange on EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting to Receive Comments and Questions and
To Provide Information on EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies and Their
Purpose
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a public meeting to receive comments and
questions on the EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=230972; http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226723). This meeting will also afford EPA an
opportunity to highlight the Nanomaterial Case Studies and how they are
being used as part of an ongoing process to refine a long-term research
strategy to support the comprehensive environmental assessment of
nanomaterials.
All interested public parties are requested to register to attend
this workshop. Space is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a
first-come, first-served basis. Comments may be submitted in writing or
as brief oral statements during specified periods of the meeting. EPA
intends to consider all such comments in evaluating whether or how to
develop further case studies and workshops on nanomaterials.
DATES: The Public Information Exchange Meeting on the EPA Nanomaterial
Case Studies will be held on January 4, 2011, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
and ending no later than 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Written
comments should be submitted to EPA by December 28, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The Public Information Exchange Meeting on the EPA
Nanomaterial Case Studies will be held at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, NC. To attend the
workshop, please register no later than December 28, 2010, preferably
by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Alternatively, you may
register by calling Ms. Amalia Marenberg at ICF International at (919)
293-1624.
EPA welcomes public attendance at the Public Information Exchange
Meeting on the EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies and will make every effort
to accommodate persons with disabilities. For information on access or
services for individuals with disabilities, or if you have any other
questions related to this meeting, please contact Ms. Amalia Marenberg
of ICF International at (919) 293-1624.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies and Workshops
Engineered nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) have often been
described as having at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers
(nm) and frequently possessing unusual, if not unique, properties that
arise from their small size. Like all technological developments,
nanomaterials offer the potential for both benefits and risks. The
assessment of such risks and benefits requires information, but given
the emergent state of nanotechnology, much remains to be learned about
the characteristics and effects of nanomaterials before such
assessments can be accomplished.
In its 2007 Nanotechnology White Paper (2007, p. 89), EPA included
the following recommendations regarding the risk assessment of
nanomaterials: (1) Develop case studies based on publicly available
information on one or several intentionally produced nanomaterials, and
from such case studies identify information gaps to help map areas of
research that would support the risk assessment process; (2) hold a
series of workshops involving a substantial number of experts from
several disciplines to assist in this process.
In keeping with these recommendations, the National Center for
Environmental Assessment (NCEA) in EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD) prepared Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale
Titanium Dioxide in Water Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen [External
Review Draft] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC,
EPA/600/R-09/057, 2009, http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=210206), released in July 2009, and subsequently
held the ``Nanomaterial Case Studies Workshop: Developing a
Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Research Strategy for Nanoscale
Titanium Dioxide'' on September 29-30, 2009, in Durham, North Carolina.
A summary of the workshop may be found at: http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1005summ.pdf. The summary document provides information on the
design and conduct of the 2009 case studies workshop, noting that the
Nanomaterial Case Studies Workshop
[[Page 77637]]
was held under the auspices of the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors
(BOSC), an advisory committee of independent scientists and engineers
established by EPA to provide advice, information, and recommendations
concerning practices and programs of the Office of Research and
Development, including ORD's research planning process, in accordance
with provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C.
App. 2 [http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/laws/fed-advisory-committee]) and related regulations. In August 2010, the BOSC provided
comments on the case studies workshop (http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1008rpt.pdf).
The Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water
Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen [External Review Draft] (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=210206) was used as a
starting point for the 2009 workshop. A key feature of the case studies
is the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which
takes a holistic view of specific applications of selected
nanomaterials, beginning with the product life cycle and encompassing
environmental fate and transport, exposure, and ecological as well as
human health implications. CEA also includes a process component
involving decision science methods, and this aspect of CEA was used in
a workshop to identify and prioritize research or information needed to
assess nanoscale titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2).
It is important to note that the Nanomaterial Case Studies document
and workshop were not intended to be ends in themselves, even though
they may have value or be of interest in their own right. They were
conceived as the first in a series of nanomaterial case studies and
workshops to be used in developing and refining a long-term research
strategy to support the comprehensive environmental assessment of
selected nanomaterials for potential human health and ecological risks
(U.S. EPA, 2009, 225004). Such a comprehensive strategy is expected to
develop in an evolutionary process reflecting adjustments and
modifications as additional nanomaterials are considered and new
information becomes available.
The purpose of the Public Information Exchange Meeting scheduled on
January 4, 2011, is to afford an opportunity for EPA to receive
comments and questions and to provide information on the EPA
nanomaterial case studies and associated workshops, including their
purpose and rationale. The Information Exchange will be held from 12:30
p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the EPA facility in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina.
ICF International, a contractor to EPA, will conduct a separate
meeting, the ``ICF International Nanomaterial Case Studies Workshop:
Developing a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Research Strategy
for Nanoscale Silver,'' at 3:45 p.m., January 4, 2011, in the same
location. This workshop will be conducted with a selected set of
invitee-only participants in a structured decision science process
known as Nominal Group Technique (NGT), similar to the NGT process used
in the 2009 workshop on nano-TiO2 (http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1005summ.pdf). The upcoming ICF workshop will use the EPA
document Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant
Spray [External Review Draft] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-10/081, 2010, http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226723) as a starting point for identifying and
prioritizing possible research directions related to nanoscale silver.
The ICF workshop is expected to conclude by 1 p.m. on Friday, January
7, 2011. Although funded by EPA, the ICF workshop is being conducted
independently of EPA so as to comply with provisions of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The ICF workshop will be open to public
observers. Persons interested in obtaining more information about the
workshop conducted by ICF International or in attending as an observer
are asked to e-mail [email protected] or call Ms. Amalia Marenberg
at (919) 293-1624. Please indicate whether you are interested in
attending the EPA Public Information Exchange Meeting or the ICF
International NGT Workshop or both.
II. How To Submit Comments
The public comment period has closed for Nanomaterial Case Studies:
Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen
[External Review Draft] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/057, 2009, http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=210206), which has now been completed and posted
as a final version (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=230972). Also closed is the public comment period
for Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray
[External Review Draft] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-10/081, 2010, http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226723). However, comments on either of these
documents, especially comments related to the approach used in
developing the case studies and how they could be used in developing a
comprehensive environmental assessment research strategy, are welcomed
in connection with the EPA Public Information Exchange on the
Nanomaterial Case Studies and may be used by EPA in evaluating whether
or how to develop further case studies and workshops on nanomaterials.
Comments may be submitted orally at specified times during the Public
Information Exchange Meeting on the EPA Nanomaterial Case Studies on
January 4, 2011. Comments may also be submitted in writing in advance
of the meeting. Anyone who wishes to attend the meeting and/or submit
comments orally or in writing should so indicate, preferably no later
than December 28, 2010, by sending an e-mail to [email protected]
or by calling Ms. Amalia Marenberg at ICF International at (919) 293-
1624.
Dated: December 7, 2010.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-31210 Filed 12-10-10; 8:45 am]
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