[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20103-20104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07765]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-1064; FRL-9797-6]
Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional
X-Ray Procedures
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is
announcing the availability of, and soliciting public comments for 60
days, on Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and
Interventional X-Ray Procedures. This document is Federal Guidance
Report No. 14. It replaces Federal Guidance Report No. 9, ``Radiation
Protection Guidance for Diagnostic X-rays,'' which was released in
October 1976. The recommendations contained in this report represent
consensus judgment of an interagency Medical Work Group for the
practice of diagnostic and interventional imaging by Federal agencies.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 3, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2010-1064, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: to [email protected]
Fax: (202) 566-1741
Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460
Instructions: Direct your comments to Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2010-1064. The agency's policy is that all comments received will
be included in the public docket without change and may be made
available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided, unless the 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
www.regulations.gov or email. The 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 email comment directly to EPA without
going through www.regulations.gov your email 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 http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
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 material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available electronically at
www.regulations.gov. As provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR Part 2,
and in accordance with normal EPA docket procedures, if copies of any
docket materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for
photocopying.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Boyd, Radiation Protection
Division, Mail Code 6608J, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, 20460; telephone number: 202-343-
9395; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
[[Page 20104]]
information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside
of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within
the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI). In
addition to one complete version of the comment that includes
information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain
the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
This document is Federal Guidance Report No. 14 (FGR 14),
``Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional X-ray
Procedures.'' It replaces Federal Guidance Report No. 9, ``Radiation
Protection Guidance for Diagnostic X-rays,'' which was released in
October 1976. Federal Guidance reports were initiated under the Federal
Radiation Council (FRC), which was formed in 1959, through Executive
Order 10831. A decade later its functions were transferred to the
Administrator of the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
as part of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970. Under these authorities
it is the responsibility of the Administrator to ``advise the President
with respect to radiation matters, directly or indirectly affecting
health, including guidance for all Federal agencies in the formulation
of radiation standards and in the establishment and execution of
programs of cooperation with States.'' (42 U.S.C. 2021(h)) While EPA
believes that this guidance will be useful to the broader medical
community, the recommendations in FGR 14 are specifically directed to
the use of diagnostic and interventional x-rays in federal facilities.
A draft version of FGR 14 is now available for review and comment. It
can be found on the agency's Radiation Protection Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/radiation.
Dated: March 27, 2013.
Michael P. Flynn,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. 2013-07765 Filed 4-2-13; 8:45 am]
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