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An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers 

PDF Version (2 pp, 71K, About PDF)

[Federal Register: December 23, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 247)]
[Notices]
[Page 78788-78789]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23de08-79]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8756-4; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2008-0663]

An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of an extension of the public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment
period for the draft document titled, ``An Exposure Assessment of
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers'' (EPA 600/R-08/086A). The public
comment period was announced on December 4, 2008 (FR73, 73930).
    The draft document was prepared by the National Center for
Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of

[[Page 78789]]

Research and Development to provide a comprehensive assessment of the
exposure of Americans to polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs, a class
of brominated flame retardants. The document is being distributed
solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination review under applicable
information quality guidelines. It does not represent and should not be
construed to represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination.
EPA will consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this
notice when revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period began on December 4, 2008. This notice
announces the extension of the deadline for public comment from January
5, 2008, to February 2, 2008. Comments must be received on or before
February 2, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The draft document entitled, ``An Exposure Assessment of
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers,'' is available primarily via the
Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home
page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://
www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from
the Information Management Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561;
facsimile: 703-347-8691. Please provide your name, your mailing
address, and the draft document title, ``An Exposure Assessment of
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers'' (EPA/600/R-08/086A) to facilitate
processing of your request. Comments may be submitted electronically
via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
    For technical information, contact Matthew Lorber, NCEA; telephone:
703-347-8535; facsimile: 703-347-8692; or e-mail:
lorber.matthew@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Project/Document

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formed
a working group comprised of individuals from several program offices
including the Offices of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances;
the Office of Water; the Office of Research and Development; and the
Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, to study production, use,
alternatives, environmental fate, exposure, and health effects of
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). This working group issued a
project plan in 2006 that outlined projects in these areas. EPA reports
regularly on progress in completing the activities identified in the
project plan, with the most recent status report issued in March 2008.
The Web site that describes this working group, including the project
plan, is http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pbde. This draft document addresses
the exposure assessment needs identified in that project plan. It
provides a comprehensive assessment of the exposure of Americans to
this class of persistent organic pollutants. Individual chapters in
this document address: The production, use, and lifecycle of PBDEs;
environmental fate; environmental and exposure media levels; and human
exposure.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2008-
0663, by one of the following methods:
    • http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments.
    • E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
    • Fax: 202-566-1753.
    • Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
    • Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original
and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2008-0663. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: December 16, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-30517 Filed 12-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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