[Federal Register: May 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 24292-24294]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my07-54]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128; FRL-8126-7]
Dazomet 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 fumigant
dazomet. In addition, this notice solicits public comment on the risk
reduction options paper for dazomet and EPA's benefits assessments for
the soil fumigants. The Agency is also seeking comments on the
ecological risk assessment. 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 dazomet
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 five 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-2005-0128, 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-
2005-0128. 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
[[Page 24293]]
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: Cathryn O'Connell, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0136; fax
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
40339)(FRL-7721-8 ); a response to comments; and related documents for
dazomet. EPA also is soliciting public comment on the risk reduction
options paper and the benefits assessments for the soil fumigants. EPA
developed the risk assessments for dazomet 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).
Dazomet is used as non-selective pre-plant soil fumigant with
fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal properties. It is
used on strawberries, tomatoes, golf greens/tees, nonbearing crops,
turf sites, ornamental sites, field nurseries, compost piles, and
potting soils. Typical applications are made prior to planting to
sterilize the soil. Dazomet may also be applied in a variety of
industrial places such as paper mills, oilfield drilling muds and work
over or completion fluids, and recirculating cooling water systems to
control slime forming and/or spoilage bacteria. Dazomet is 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 dazomet 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 dazomet. Risks of concern associated
with the use of dazomet include 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-2005-0128-0030).
A Readers Guide has been created to provide an organizational structure
to the dazomet docket, to allow readers to more easily access and
navigate the various entries contained in the dazomet docket, and to
facilitate public comment. You may find this guide at document number
EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0128-0029. 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, dazomet 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 dazomet. Comments
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late''
EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
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After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue the
dazomet 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. E7-8274 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S