[Federal Register: May 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 24295-24297]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my07-56]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0350; FRL-8125-9]
Chloropicrin Revised Risk Assessments; 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 of EPA's revised risk
assessments for the pesticide chloropicrin. In addition, this notice
solicits public comment on risk reduction options paper for
chloropicrin
[[Page 24296]]
and a preliminary benefits 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 chloropicrin 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 is
also 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 management decisions. The Agency is seeking the
same input for the other soil fumigants 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-2007-0350, 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-
2007-0350. 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: Nathan Mottl, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-0208; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: mottl.nathan@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.
[[Page 24297]]
II. Background
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is making available the Agency's revised risk assessments,
previously issued for comment through a Federal Register notice
published on November 29, 2006 (Vol. 71 FR 69112) (FRL-8087-4 );
response to comments documents; and related documents for chloropicrin.
EPA is also soliciting public comment on a risk reduction options paper
for chloropicrin and preliminary benefits assessments. EPA developed
the risk assessments for chloropicrin 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).
Chloropicrin is a non-selective pre-plant soil fumigant with
fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, and nematicidal properties.
Chloropicrin is also used in combination with other soil fumigants and
as a warning agent for other soil fumigants such as methyl bromide and
telone (1,3-Dichloropropane). Chloropicrin is primarily used for pre-
plant soil uses for agricultural crops and greenhouses. However,
chloropicrin is also used for fumigations for empty grain and storage
bins, tree replant sites, and wood telephone poles and timber. An
estimated 5-9 million pounds of chloropicrin is applied annually. Crops
for which over a million pounds of chloropicrin are used annually
include tobacco (3.6 million pounds), tomatoes (1.7 million pounds),
and strawberries (1.4 million pounds). Strawberries (20 percent),
tobacco (15 percent), and tomatoes (10 percent) are the crops with the
highest percentage of their overall acreage treated. Many of the pre-
plant soil fumigation uses of chloropicrin are used in combination with
either methyl bromide or telone.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for chloropicrin. Risks of concern
associated with the use of chloropicrin are: bystander inhalation
exposure risk, worker inhalation risk, and ecological risk. Bystanders
would include any person living, working, or located near a fumigant
application that may be exposed to emissions coming off the treated
field. A complete list of the risks and the mitigation options can be
found in the Risk Mitigation Options Document (available at ID number
EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0350-0003). A Readers Guide has been created to provide
and organizational structure to the chloropicrin docket, to allow
readers to more easily access and navigate the various entries
contained in the chloropicrin docket, and to facilitate public comment.
You may find this guide at ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0350-0002. 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, chloropicrin 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 chloropicrin.
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 for
comment the chloropicrin 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 22, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-8371 Filed 5-1-07; 8:45 am]
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