[Federal Register: May 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 24290-24292]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my07-53]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125; FRL-8127-7]
Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium; Revised Human Health Risk
Assessment, Notice of Availability and Solicitation of Risk Reduction
Options
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 fumigants
metam sodium and metam potassium. In addition, this notice solicits
public comment on the risk reduction options paper for fumigants
including metam sodium and metam potassium and EPA's benefits
assessments for the soil fumigants. The Agency is also seeking comments
on the ecological risk assessment which was not revised since the last
public comment period. 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 metam sodium
and metam potassium 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 also
is concurrently assessing the risks of four other soil fumigant
pesticides 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 on a similar
schedule. 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-2005-0125, 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-
2005-0125. 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
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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: Veronique LaCapra, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 605-1525; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: lacapra.veronique@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 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
40333) (FRL-7722-1); a response to comments; and related documents for
metam sodium and metam potassium. EPA also is soliciting public comment
on the risk reduction options paper and benefits assessments for the
soil fumigants. EPA developed the risk assessments for metam sodium and
metam potassium 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).
Metam sodium and metam potassium are non-selective pre-plant soil
fumigants with fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal
properties. They are registered for use on all food, feed and fiber
crops including turf and ornamentals. Metam sodium's major agricultural
use sites include potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and peanuts.
Metam potassium's major use sites are lettuce, potatoes, onions,
tomatoes, and watermelons. Metam sodium is also registered for use in
orchard replant, on golf course turf, and for small areas of turf and
soil. In addition, metam sodium is used as a root-control agent in
drains and sewers. Metam sodium and metam potassium are also registered
for a variety of antimicrobial and industrial uses. Metam sodium and
metam potassium are converted to methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in the
environment, particularly in the presence of moisture (such as in soil
after application). It is MITC that performs the fumigating activity.
The volatility of metam sodium and metam potassium in the environment,
and results of metabolism studies in plants, assure that there is no
reasonable expectation of finite residues to be incurred in/on any raw
agricultural commodity when the products are applied according to label
directions.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for metam sodium and metam potassium. Risks
of concern associated with the use of metam sodium and metam potassium
include
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bystander and worker risks. A complete list of the risks and the
mitigation options can be found in the Risk Mitigation Options Document
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. A Readers Guide has been created to
provide an organizational structure to the metam sodium and metam
potassium docket, to allow readers to more easily access and navigate
the various entries contained in the metam sodium and metam potassium
docket, and to facilitate public comment. You may find this guide in
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0125. 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, metam sodium and metam
potassium are 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 metam sodium and
metam potassium. 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
metam sodium and metam potassium RED.
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 25, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-8269 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S