[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13046-13047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6874]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-00512; FRL-5758-1]


Testing Guidelines; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: EPA has established a unified library for test guidelines 
issued by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances 
(OPPTS). The unified library for test guidelines is periodically 
updated by notices of availability of final test guidelines in the 
Federal Register. This notice describes the unified library of OPPTS 
guidelines and announces the availability of final test guidelines for 
the following two series: Series 810--Product Performance Test 
Guidelines, Groups A and C; and Series 840--Spray Drift Test 
Guidelines. The changes to the guidelines are editorial in nature and 
do not amend the existing requirements under the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). For both the 810 and 840 
Series, the guidance for conducting the test studies has not been 
revised; however, background information provided in OPPTS 810.1000 and 
840.1000 has been updated. Explicit test requirements for registration 
are set out in 40 CFR part 158 and the test guidelines contain 
standards for and examples of acceptable testing. Once final test 
guidelines are available through the U.S. Government Printing Office 
(GPO) and the Internet, earlier guidelines published as the Office of 
Pesticide Programs (OPP) Pesticide Assessment Guidelines will be 
removed from National Technical Information Services (NTIS).

ADDRESSES: The test guidelines are available from the U.S. Government 
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 on the Federal Bulletin Board. By 
modem dial (202) 512-1387, telnet and ftp: fedbbs.access.gpo.gov (IP 
162.140.64.19) or for disks or paper copies: call (202) 512-0132. The 
test guidelines are also available electronically in ASCII and PDF 
(portable document format) from the EPA's World Wide Web site (http://
www.epa.gov/epahome/research.htm) under the heading ``Researchers and 
Scientists/Test Methods and Guidelines/OPPTS Harmonized Test 
Guidelines.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information: By mail: 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) 
information: Contact the Communications Services Branch (7506C), Field 
and External Affairs Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, 
telephone number: (703) 305-5017, fax number: (703) 305-5558.
    For technical questions on Series 810 Group A test guidelines: 
David Brassard, (703) 308-1804 or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    For technical questions on Series 810 Group C test guidelines: 
Phillip Hutton, (703) 308-8260 or e-mail: [email protected].
    For technical questions on Series 840 test guidelines: Arnet Jones, 
703-305-7416 or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. EPA's Process for Developing a Unified Library of Test 
Guidelines

    EPA's OPPTS has been engaged in a multi-year project to harmonize 
and/or update test guidelines among the OPP, the Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD). The goals of the project include 
the formulation of harmonized OPP and OPPT test guidelines for those in 
common between the two programs, the harmonization of OPPT and/or OPP 
test guidelines with those of the OECD, as well as the updating of any 
test guidelines unique to OPP or OPPT programs.
     Test guidelines that are changed substantively in the 
harmonization process or through other updating/amending activities, or 
which are new (e.g., for a previously unaddressed test endpoint) will 
be made available for public comment by notice in the Federal Register. 
Additionally, EPA submits substantively revised and new test guidelines 
to peer review by expert scientific panels. Test guidelines which are 
reformatted but not changed in any substantive way are not made 
available for public comment or submitted to peer review.
    All final test guidelines will be made available through the GPO 
electronic Federal Bulletin Board and the Internet on the EPA World 
Wide Web Home Page as a unified library of OPPTS test guidelines for 
use by either EPA program office. Printed versions of the unified 
library of OPPTS test guidelines will also be available to the public 
through the GPO. For purposes of this Federal Register notice, 
``publication'' of the unified library of test guidelines generally 
describes the availability of these final guidelines through the GPO 
and the Internet. Because harmonization and updating is an ongoing task 
that will periodically result in modified test guidelines, some test 
guidelines being made available via GPO and the Internet will be 
revised in the future. These efforts will ensure that industry is 
provided with test guidelines that are current. Explicit test 
requirements for pesticide registration are set out in 40 CFR part 158 
which refers to specific test guidelines by guideline number. EPA 
recommends that the OPPTS test guidelines available through GPO and the 
Internet be consulted instead of the OPP Pesticide Assessment 
Guidelines published earlier through NTIS.
    The test guidelines appearing in the unified library will be given 
numerical designations that are different from the designations 
provided at 40 CFR parts 158, 795, 796, 797, 798, and 799. OPPTS test 
guidelines will be published in 10 disciplinary series as follows:
    Series 810--Product Performance Test Guidelines
    Series 830--Product Properties Test Guidelines
    Series 835--Fate, Transport and Transformation Test Guidelines
    Series 840--Spray Drift Test Guidelines
    Series 850--Ecological Effects Test Guidelines
    Series 860--Residue Chemistry Test Guidelines
    Series 870--Health Effects Test Guidelines
    Series 875--Occupational and Residential Exposure Test 
Guidelines
    Series 880--Biochemicals Test Guidelines
    Series 885--Microbial Pesticide Test Guidelines
    As each notice of availability is published for a set of test 
guidelines, the notice will contain a ``Master List'' for the series 
affected, which cross references the new OPPTS guideline

[[Page 13047]]

numbers to the original OPP, OPPT, and OECD numbers.

810 and 840 Series

    These final test guidelines in the 810 Series replace the 
corresponding test guidelines published in the OPP Pesticide Assessment 
Guidelines, Subdivision G: Product Performance (EPA Report 540/9-82-
026, October 1982). The Group A test guideline, OPPTS 810.1000, 
provides an overview, definitions, and general considerations for 
product performance testing. In addition, test standards for pesticides 
other than antimicrobials are included in this test guideline. This 
test guideline replaces OPP guidelines 90-1 through 90-30, 92-1 through 
92-20, and 93-1 through 93-30. For Group C, the Agency is republishing 
only those efficacy or product performance test guidelines for public 
health uses of invertebrate control agents. The test guidelines in 
Group C have been minimally edited with no substantive changes and 
replace OPP guidelines 95-1 through 95-30. Group B (Public Health Uses 
of Antimicrobial Agents) and Group D (Vertebrate Control Agent Product 
Performance Guidelines) are under development and will be published in 
the future. The OPPTS Series 840--Spray Drift guidelines replace the 
OPP Pesticide Assessment Guidelines, Subdivision R: Pesticide Spray 
Drift Evaluation (EPA Report 540/9-84-002, April 1984), OPP guidelines 
200-1 through 200-4, 201-1, and 202-1. The guidelines in the 840 series 
have been minimally edited for re-publication, but have not been 
changed in any substantive way except for the description of the 
ongoing effort in developing the Spray Drift Data Base included in 
OPPTS 840.1000. Although the Agency plans to revise its approach for 
testing for spray drift in the future, the current guidelines are in 
effect and are being republished as part of the unified library of 
OPPTS test guidelines. When the Agency has completed the process of 
revising the Spray Drift guidelines, the revised guidelines will 
replace the current guidelines.

II. Notice of Availability of Final Test Guidelines

    This notice announces the availability of final test guidelines in 
the 810 Series (Group A and Group C) and the 840 Series. The following 
is the list of guidelines being made available at this time.

                                 Series 810--Product Performance Test Guidelines                                
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                                                                             Existing Numbers          EPA Pub. 
                                                                     --------------------------------     no.   
          OPPTS Number                           Name                                                -----------
                                                                         OTS        OPP       OECD      712-C-  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Group A--General..................                                            
                                                                                                                
810.1000                          Overview, Definitions, and General     none      90-1,      none      98-001  
                                   Considerations                                   90-3                        
                                                                                    90-30                       
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
                                  Group C--Invertebrate Control                                                 
                                   Agent Product Performance Test                                               
                                   Guidelines.                                                                  
                                                                                                                
810.3000                          General considerations for             none       95-1      none      98-409  
                                   efficacy of invertebrate control                                             
                                   agents                                                                       
                                                                                                                
810.3100                          Soil treatments for imported fire      none       95-3      none      98-410  
                                   ants                                                                         
                                                                                                                
810.3200                          Livestock, poultry, fur- and wool-     none       95-8      none      98-414  
                                   bearing animal treatments                                                    
                                                                                                                
810.3300                          Treatments to control pests of         none    95-9, 95-    none      98-411  
                                   humans and pets                                   30                         
                                                                                                                
810.3400                          Mosquito, black fly, and biting        none      95-10      none      98-419  
                                   midge (sand fly) treatments                                                  
                                                                                                                
810.3500                          Premises treatments                    none    95-11, 95-   none      98-413  
                                                                                     30                         
                                                                                                                
810.3600                          Structural treatments                  none      95-12      none      98-424  
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                                     Series 840--Spray Drift Test Guidelines                                    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Existing Numbers          EPA Pub. 
                                                                     --------------------------------     no.   
          OPPTS Number                           Name                                                -----------
                                                                         OTS        OPP       OECD      712-C-  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
840.1000                          Background for pesticide aerial        none      201-1,     none      98-319  
                                   drift evaluation                                 201-4                       
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
840.1100                          Spray droplet size spectrum            none      201-1      none      98-055  
                                                                                                                
840.1200                          Spray drift field deposition           none      202-1      none      98-112  
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List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Health.

    Dated: March 10, 1998.

Susan H. Wayland,

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and 
Toxic Substances.

[FR Doc. 98-6874 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
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