[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79335-79336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31994]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2015-0780; FRL-9939-68]
Lead; Renovation, Repair and Painting Program; Lead Test Kit;
Notice of Opening of Comment Period
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is opening a comment period to allow for further public
comment on lead test kits and other field testing options as suggested
in EPA's Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Act policy rider. Among other
things, the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule (RRP)
established performance recognition criteria for lead test kits for use
as an option to determine if regulated lead-based paint is not present
in target housing and child-occupied facilities. The use of an EPA-
recognized lead test kit, when used by a trained professional, can
reliably determine that regulated lead-based paint is not present by
virtue of a negative result. The RRP rule also established negative
response and positive response criteria for lead test kits recognized
by EPA. No lead test kit has been developed that meets the positive
response criterion. On June 4, 2015, EPA hosted a public meeting and
webinar to solicit input from stakeholders in an effort to understand
the current state of the science for lead test kits and lead-based
paint field testing alternatives, as well as the existing market and
potential availability of additional lead test kits. To date, no
company's lead test kit has met both the negative response and positive
response criteria outlined in the RRP rule. Based on stakeholder input,
EPA is unaware of any lead test kit available now or in the foreseeable
future that would meet both of the performance criteria.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 19, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2015-0780, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute.
Mail: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets. The docket for this action will remain open until
February 19, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact:
The Agency's lead information Contact Us form at http://www2.epa.gov/lead/forms/contact-us or visit www2.epa.gov/lead. You may
also contact Toiya Goodlow, National Program Chemicals Division
(7404M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-2305; email address: [email protected].
For general information contact: The National Lead Information
Center, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620;
telephone number: 1-800-424-LEAD (5323); online information request
form: http://www2.epa.gov/lead/forms/lead-hotline-national-lead-information-center.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This document is directed to stakeholders that develop, manufacture
and/or sell lead test kits or other lead-based paint field testing
instruments. You may be potentially affected by this action if you
manufacture or sell lead test kits, or if you use lead test kits to
determine if lead-safe work practices are required under the RRP rule
to perform renovations for compensation in target housing or child-
occupied facilities. Examples of child-occupied facilities are day-care
centers, preschools, and kindergarten classrooms.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI 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 preparing and submitting
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
II. What action is the Agency taking?
On April 22, 2008, EPA published the Lead Renovation, Repair, and
Painting rule. It requires contractors to use lead-safe work practices
during renovation, repair, and painting activities that disturb lead-
based paint in target housing and child-occupied facilities built
before 1978 unless a determination can be made that no lead-based paint
would be disturbed during the renovation or repair (Ref. 1). The use of
an EPA-recognized lead test kit, when used by a trained professional,
can reliably determine that regulated lead-based paint is not present
by virtue of a negative result. The federal standards for lead-based
paint in target housing and child-occupied facilities is a lead content
in paint that equals or exceeds a level of 1.0 milligram per square
centimeter (mg/cm\2\) or 0.5 percent by weight. If regulated lead-based
paint is not present, there is no requirement to employ lead-safe work
practices under the RRP rule.
The RRP rule established negative response and positive response
criteria outlined in 40 CFR 745.88(c) for lead test kits recognized by
EPA. Lead test kits recognized before September 1, 2010, must meet only
the negative response criterion outlined in 40 CFR 745.88(c)(1). The
negative response
[[Page 79336]]
criterion states that for paint containing lead at or above the
regulated level, 1.0 mg/cm\2\ or 0.5% by weight, a demonstrated
probability (with 95% confidence) of a negative response less than or
equal to 5% of the time must be met. The recognition of kits that meet
only this criterion will last until EPA publicizes its recognition of
the first lead test kit that meets both the negative and positive
response criteria outlined in the rule.
Lead test kits recognized after September 1, 2010, must meet both
the negative response and positive response criteria outlined in 40 CFR
745.88(c)(1) and (2). The positive response criterion states that for
paint containing lead below the regulated level, 1.0 mg/cm\2\ or 0.5%
by weight, a demonstrated probability (with 95% confidence) of a
positive response less than or equal to 10% of the time must be met.
Qualitatively speaking, lead test kits recognized by EPA should also
serve as a quick, inexpensive, reliable, and easy to perform option for
lead-based paint testing in the field.
To date no lead test kit has met both of the performance criteria
outlined in the RRP rule. However, there are two EPA-recognized lead
test kits commercially available nationwide that meet the negative
response criterion and continue to be recognized by EPA on such basis.
The report accompanying the EPA Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Act
included a policy rider that states:
Lead Test Kit-In 2008, EPA adopted the Lead Renovation, Repair,
and Painting rule which included criteria by which the Agency could
certify a test kit that contractors could use onsite to comply with
the rule; yet, 6 years later no kit has been developed that meet
these standards. The Agency is directed to prioritize efforts with
stakeholders in fiscal year 2015 to identity solutions that would
allow for a test kit to meet the criteria within the 2008 rule to
reduce costs for consumers, remodelers and families to comply with
the rule. If no solution is reached by the end of the fiscal year,
EPA should revisit the test kit criteria in the 2008 rule and
solicit public comment on alternatives (Ref. 2).
In response, EPA solicited input from stakeholders in an effort to
understand the current state of the science for lead test kits and
lead-based paint field testing alternatives, as well as the existing
market and potential availability of additional lead test kits (Ref.
3). On June 4, 2015, EPA hosted a public meeting and webinar with
stakeholders including lead test kit developers and manufacturers, non-
governmental organizations, trade associations, National Lead
Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP) accreditation organizations
and laboratories, and state and federal government staff members.
Ninety-five people participated in the meeting and 12 public comments
were submitted to the public docket. EPA also held three individual
meetings with lead test kit developers and trade associations.
EPA has carefully reviewed the comments and recommendations
received through these stakeholder outreach efforts. Stakeholders
provided comments on the following topics: lead test kits, X-Ray
Fluorescence (XRF) testing, limiting the scope of the RRP rule, NLLAP
testing, the lead-based paint definition, EPA's Environmental
Technology Verification (ETV) Program, the economic analysis supporting
the RRP rule, and harmonization of regulatory standards. Based on
stakeholder input, EPA is unaware of any lead test kit available now or
in the foreseeable future that would meet both the positive response
and negative response criteria. EPA concluded that no recommendation
received thus far would provide an immediate solution to allow for a
lead test kit that would meet both of the performance criteria and have
the potential to ``reduce costs for consumers, remodelers and
families,'' per the EPA Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Act policy
rider.
At this time, EPA has no plans or resources to sponsor additional
testing of kits as was done previously through the agency's ETV
Program. However, lead test kit manufacturers are allowed at any time
to submit to EPA data on their kit's performance that is based on an
EPA approved ETV-equivalent test protocol. If a newly-developed lead
test kit is shown to meet both the positive response and negative
response criteria, EPA would recognize the lead test kit as meeting
both criteria under 40 CFR 745.88(c).
Given this current status and the input received from stakeholders,
EPA is opening a comment period to allow for further public comment on
lead test kits and other field testing options as suggested in EPA
Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations Act policy rider. Without proposing any
regulatory amendments at this time, EPA is specifically soliciting
comment on the following potential lead test kit and field testing
options:
Proposing to eliminate the positive response criterion;
Proposing to modify the positive response criterion;
Maintaining the current negative response and positive
response criteria;
Proposing to provide reduced RRP certification training
requirements for XRF technicians; and
Exploring any other lead-based paint field testing
technology that would provide reduced costs for consumers, remodelers
and families to comply with the RRP rule.
Commenters should provide technical information and data used to
substantiate your recommendation. See the commenting tips at http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#tips for further
information on preparing and submitting comments. Comments must be
received on or before February 19, 2016.
Additionally and separately, EPA will provide a subsequent
opportunity to provide public comment through the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, section 610, review of the RRP rule. Public comments
requested at that time will be related to broader stakeholder
recommendations regarding the RRP rule. For more information about the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, section 610, reviews, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/reg-flex/section-610-reviews.
III. References
As indicated under ADDRESSES, a docket has been established for
this notice under docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2015-0780. The following
is a listing of the documents that are specifically referenced in this
document. The docket includes these documents and other information
considered by EPA, including documents that are referenced within the
documents that are included in the docket, even if the referenced
document is not physically located in the docket. For assistance in
locating these other documents, please consult the technical person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. EPA. Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program; Final Rule,
Federal Register, April 22, 2008 (73 FR 21692) (FRL-8355-7).
2. 160 Cong. Rec. H9,307, H9,767 (daily ed. Dec. 11, 2014)
(Explanatory Statement Submitted by Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Chairman
of the House Committee on Appropriations regarding the House
Amendment to the Senate Amendment on H.R. 83) (mentioning lead test
kits).
3. EPA. Lead; Renovation, Repair and Painting Program; Lead Test Kit
Stakeholder Meeting; Notice of Public Meeting. Federal Register, May
14, 2015 (80 FR 27621) (FRL-9927-40).
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
Dated: December 14, 2015.
James Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-31994 Filed 12-18-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P