[Federal Register: December 15, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 240)] [Notices] [Page 70013-70014] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15de99-51] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-6509-1] Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; A Pilot Study of Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants (CTEPP) AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: A Pilot Study of Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants, EPA ICR Number 1892.02. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden and cost; where appropriate, it includes the actual data collection instrument. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 14, 2000. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 260-2740, by email at farmer.sandy@epa.gov, or download off the Internet at http:// www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 1892.02. For technical information about the collection contact Gary Evans at (919) 541-3124. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: A Pilot Study of Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants, EPA ICR Number 1892.02. This is a new collection. Abstract: The research study, ``A Pilot Study of Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants,'' (CTEPP) is a pilot-scale project involving about 260 children, which investigates the possible exposures that young children may have to common contaminants in their everyday surroundings. These [[Page 70014]] contaminants include several pesticides, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some of which are suspected of being endocrine disrupters. The targeted compounds are persistent in the indoor and sometimes the outdoor environments, so that very low levels may exist in the children's surrounding microenvironments and provide a source of chronic, non-acute exposure. The aim of CTEPP is to obtain scientifically valid data and statistically robust relationships describing the exposures of a subpopulation of young children, between the ages of 18 months and 5 years, in several North Carolina and Ohio counties. The CTEPP data will be used to evaluate and refine existing exposure models so that improved, realistic estimates of exposure can be made, and to identify the important exposure pathways. The CTEPP study has direct practical utility to the Food Quality and Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). It will provide critical data on aggregate chronic, sub-acute pesticide exposures and pathways for approximately 260 children in several microenvironments. It will allow evaluation and refinement of the approaches and models used for estimating exposure, and it will facilitate the identification of the important exposure pathways. The objectives of CTEPP are thus threefold: (1) To measure the total exposures at sub-acute levels of a small set of preschool children in several NC and OH counties to a suite of persistent pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants that they may encounter in their everyday environments; (2) to evaluate and refine exposure models using real, physical data; and (3) to apportion the exposure pathways and identify the important exposure media, so that ultimately children's exposures can be lowered. Therefore, CTEPP investigates the total exposures to persistent organic compounds in the environment of a group of pre-elementary school children through the ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption pathways, in several non-occupational settings, through multiple environmental media. Responses to the collection of information are voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. The Federal Register document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 2/1/1999 (64 FR 4868); no comments were received. Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6.3 hours per respondent. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. Respondents/Affected Entities: Parents, day care or pre-school operators, children. Estimated Number of Respondents: 312. Frequency of Response: On occasion. Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 657 hours. Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden (non-labor costs): $0. Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please refer to EPA ICR No. 1892.02 in any correspondence. Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, Collection Strategies Division (2822), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460; and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503. Dated: December 10, 1999. Oscar Morales, Director, Collection Strategies Division. [FR Doc. 99-32519 Filed 12-14-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P