Methyl Bromide Revised Human Health Risk Assessment for Soil,
Greenhouses, and Residential/Structural Uses, Notice of Availability,
and Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options (Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process)
[Federal Register: May 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 24294-24295]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my07-55]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0123; FRL-8124-8]
Methyl Bromide Revised Human Health Risk Assessment for Soil,
Greenhouses, and Residential/Structural Uses, Notice of Availability,
and Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options (Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability and seeks comments on
EPA's revised human health risk assessment for the pesticide methyl
bromide. In addition, this notice solicits public comment on two risk
mitigation options documents for methyl bromide and EPA's preliminary
benefits assessments. The Agency is also seeking comments on the
ecological risk assessment which, based on public comments in phase 3,
was not revised. The public is encouraged to suggest risk management
ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a
Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the methyl bromide soil,
greenhouses, and residential/structural uses through the full, 6-Phase
public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public
in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment
decisions. EPA completed a red for commodity uses of methyl bromide,
including uses that have tolerances, in August 2006. EPA also is
concurrently assessing the risks of five other fumigant pesticides that
also have soil uses to ensure that its assessment approaches are
consistent, and to ensure that risk tradeoffs and economic outcomes can
be adequately predicted in reaching risk management decisions. The
Agency is seeking the same input from the public on these pesticides.
Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet
current health and safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0123, by one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
• Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0123. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the 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 regulations.gov or e-
mail. The Federal regulations.gov website 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
regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the 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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov web
site to view the docket index or access available documents. 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 material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available either in the
electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available
in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The
hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket
telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Weiss, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8293; fax
number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: weiss.steven@epa.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution,
or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency
has not attempted to describe all
[[Page 24295]]
the specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have
any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a
particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 e-mail. 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 submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is making available the Agency's revised human health risk
assessment and ecological risk assessment, initially issued for comment
through a Federal Register notice published on July 13, 2005 (70 FR
40336)] [(FRL-7721-3 )]; a response to comments; and related documents
for methyl bromide. EPA also is soliciting public comment on two risk
mitigation options documents and benefits assessments for methyl
bromide. EPA developed the risk assessments for methyl bromide as part
of its public process for making pesticide reregistration eligibility
and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is
ensuring that pesticides meet current standards under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality
Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
Methyl bromide is primarily used on terrestrial non-food use sites
but other commonly treated sites include indoor food and non-food use
sites, residential settings, and commercial/industrial facilities.
Strawberries (54 percent), eggplant (43 percent), peppers (17 percent),
and tomatoes (13 percent) are the crops with the highest percentage of
their overall acreage treated.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for methyl bromide. Risks of concern
associated with the use of methyl bromide include bystander risks which
exceed the Agency's level of concern for several scenarios. Bystanders
would include any person living, working, or located near a fumigant
application that may be exposed to emissions coming off the treated
area (e.g., field). Worker risks also exceed Agency's level of concern
for the majority of scenarios considered, even when appropriate
mitigation measures were considered (e.g., respirators and emission
reduction technology such as tarps). Acute risks to birds and mammals
do not exceed the Agency's level of concern. However, there is a
potential for exposure over a prolonged period. For aquatic organisms,
the only aquatic LOC exceeded is the acute endangered species LOC for
aquatic invertebrates. In targeting these risks of concern, the Agency
solicits information on effective and practical risk reduction measures.
EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14,
2004, (69 FR 26819)(FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these
programs, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide.
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, methyl bromide is being
reviewed through the full 6-Phase public participation process.
All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES,
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments and
proposals will become part of the Agency Docket for methyl bromide.
Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked
``late'' EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the
methyl bromide RED for soil, greenhouses, and residential/structural uses.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active
ingredient are eligible for reregistration,'' before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: April 17, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-8275 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
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