[Federal Register: April 16, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 73)]
[Notices]
[Page 19481]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16ap01-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6966-4]
Technical Workshop on Research Issues Associated With the
Gathering and Use of Micro- and Macro-Activity Data
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a
meeting, organized and convened by E.H. Pechan & Associates, Inc., a
contractor to EPA's Office of Research and Development, National
Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), for external scientific peer
consultation on research issues related to the gathering and use of
micro- and macro-level human activity data. The meeting is being held
by NERL to discuss the state-of-the-science on human activity data for
multi-media, multi-pathway exposure and dose assessments and
suggestions on additional research needed to improve the science.
DATES: The meeting will be held from 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on May 17,
2001 and from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on May 18, 2001. To register to
attend the workshop as an observer, contact Kathy Manwaring of E.H.
Pechan & Associates, Inc. at 919-493-3144 x123, email:
kathym@pechan.com by May 9, 2001. Space is limited so please register
early.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the main auditorium of the
Environmental Research Center of the Environmental Protection Agency in
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, located at the corner of T.W.
Alexander Drive and Highway 54.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas McCurdy of EPA NERL, tel. 919-
541-0782, email: mccurdy.thomas@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In human exposure assessments, macro-
activities are general activity descriptors (e.g., ``cooking'',
``playing games'') that describe what a person is doing in a particular
location at a particular time. Micro-activities are those detailed
activities (e.g., hand-to-surface, hand-to-mouth, and object-to-mouth
contacts) that a person is engaged in during a macro-activity.
Information on both macro- and micro-activities is important for
accurately quantifying real-time multimedia, multipathway human
exposures that account for dermal contact, inhalation, dietary
ingestion, and non-dietary ingestion of pollutants.
Although a fair amount of data on macro-activity information exists
from surveys, micro-activity data are very limited and expensive to
obtain via current methods and protocols. In addition, micro-activity
methods and protocols are not standardized, so it often is difficult to
combine the limited data that do exist into a coherent database. Thus,
there is a need to discuss how micro-activity data should be gathered
and reported for maximum usefulness in exposure assessments. There also
is a need to determine if the existing macro-activity database can be
used to provide useful estimates of micro-activity levels if a
functional relationship can be derived between them for specific
population groups of interest, especially children. Finally, there is a
need to develop research protocols and strategies that simultaneously
will provide integrated micro- and macro-activity data for human
exposure and dose assessment purposes. Discussing and addressing these
needs can help improve quantification of children's aggregate exposures
to agricultural pesticides, as required by the Food Quality Protection
Act (FQPA) of 1996.
The purpose of the workshop is to solicit--after a sharing of
information on the state-of-the-science regarding the subject issues--
individual written expert opinion of scientists and analysts on the
research needed to address the collection and integration of micro- and
macro-activity data in order to improve aggregate exposure and dose
assessments of multimedia, multipathway chemicals. NERL specifically is
not interested in obtaining a consensus, or joint, recommendation from
the meeting participants and observers regarding a possible NERL
research strategy/program to obtain better micro-,
macro-, or integrated activity information; developing such a strategy
and program is an inherently governmental function. The Laboratory is
interested, however, in eliciting expert views on what data are needed,
and what approaches and methods should be used to most effectively
obtain these data.
Dated: March 21, 2001.
Jewel Morris,
Acting Deputy Director, National Exposure Research Laboratory.
[FR Doc. 01-9362 Filed 4-13-01; 8:45 am]
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