[Federal Register: June 4, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 107)]
[Notices]               
[Page 38496-38497]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04jn02-59]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7223-9]

 
Technical Peer Review Workshop on the Draft Document Entitled A 
Review of the Reference Dose and Reference Concentration Processes

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a meeting, organized and convened by Versar, 
Inc., a contractor to EPA's Risk Assessment Forum, for external 
scientific peer review of the draft document entitled, A Review of the 
Reference Dose and Reference Concentration Processes (EPA/630/P-02/
002A). The purpose of the meeting is to discuss technical issues 
associated with the Risk Assessment Forum Reference Dose/Reference 
Concentration (RfD/RfC) Technical Panel recommendations. The draft 
document is not a guidance document but an analysis and review of the 
current RfD/RfC process and a series of recommendations to improve the 
process. Final decisions on implementing any of the recommendations 
from the Technical Panel will be made by the Agency's Science Policy 
Council. The EPA also is announcing a 30-day public comment period for 
the draft document. EPA will consider the peer review advice and public 
comment submissions in revising the document.

DATES: The peer review meeting will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
on Wednesday, June 19, 2002. The 30-day public comment period begins 
June 4, 2002, and ends July 5, 2002. Technical comments should be in 
writing and must be postmarked by July 5, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Key Bridge Marriott, 1401 
Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209. Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor, will 
convene and facilitate the workshop. To register to attend the workshop 
as an observer, visit www.versar.com/epa/rfdrfcreview.htm, or contact 
Ms. Traci Bludis, Versar, Inc.; telephone: (703) 750-3000 extension 
449; facsimile: 703-642-6954; e-mail bluditra@versar.com by 5 p.m. 
eastern daylight time, June 14, 2002. The draft document, A Review of 
the Reference Dose and Reference Concentration Processes, is available 
via the Internet on the Risk Assessment Forum Publications home page at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea/raf/rafpub.htm under What's New. Copies are not 
available from Versar Inc.
    Public comments may be mailed to the Technical Information Staff 
(8623D), NCEA-W, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, or delivered to the 
Technical Information Staff at 808 17th Street, NW, 5th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006; telephone: 202-564-3261; facsimile: 202-565-0050.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning the 
technical peer review workshop or the draft document, A Review of the 
Reference Dose and Reference

[[Page 38497]]

Concentration Processes, please contact Marilyn Brower, U.S. EPA Office 
of Research and Development (8601-D), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; Telephone: (202) 564-3363; Fax: (202) 565-0062; 
e-mail: brower.marilyn@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RfD/RfC Technical Panel (hereafter the 
Technical Panel) was established in response to a request from the 
Agency's 10X Food Quality Protection Act Task Force to the Science 
Policy Council and the Risk Assessment Forum. A draft toxicology report 
developed by the 10X Task Force raised a number of issues that relate 
to the derivation of the oral reference dose (RfD) and inhalation 
reference concentration (RfC). The Science Policy Council and the Risk 
Assessment Forum agreed that these issues should be examined on a 
broader scale than just for pesticides, with input from various program 
offices within the Agency and from the outside scientific/policy 
community. This charge was expanded by the Forum to include a more in-
depth review of a number of issues related to the RfD/RfC process, in 
part because of several other Forum activities that were underway 
(e.g., development of the Framework for the Harmonization of Cancer and 
Noncancer Risk Assessment, revision of the Benchmark Dose Guidance 
Document, and revision of the Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk 
Assessment). In addition, the RfD/RfC derivation process had not been 
evaluated in detail for a number of years, and several scientific 
issues concerning children's health, e.g., neurotoxicity and 
immunotoxicity, have become increasingly important in risk assessment. 
These activities have prompted the need to re-examine the RfD/RfC 
process and to coordinate these efforts with other related activities. 
In particular, it was important that efforts continue to focus on 
moving toward the goal of harmonization of risk assessment approaches 
for all health endpoints and making efficient use of animal testing to 
achieve this goal.
    The draft report entitled, A Review of the Reference Dose and 
Reference Concentration Processes is not a guidance document but 
represents an analysis of the current RfD/RfC processes. The draft 
report summarizes the review and deliberations of the Technical Panel 
and presents a number of recommendations to improve the RfD/RfC 
processes. The review further documents recommendations that should be 
considered in the implementation of changes in the current process and/
or development of needed guidance. The peer reviewers are being asked 
to review the recommendations of the Technical Panel and to provide 
comments regarding the scientific rationale for the recommendations. 
Comments from the external peer reviewers and the public will help 
inform the process.

    Dated: May 28, 2002.
George W. Alapas,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 02-13981 Filed 6-3-02; 8:45 am]
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