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Chlorflurenol Risk Assessment; Notice of Availability, and Risk Reduction Options
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: November 1, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 64262-64264]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01no06-62]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0874; FRL-8101-5]
Chlorflurenol Risk Assessment; Notice of Availability, and Risk
Reduction Options
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk
assessment(s), and related documents for the herbicidal pesticide
chlorflurenol, and opens a public comment period on these documents.
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 chlorflurenol through a modified, 4-
Phase public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the
public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance
reassessment decisions. This is Phase 3 of the 4-Phase process. Through
these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health
and safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0874, 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
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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-
2006 0874. 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.
Although
[[Page 64263]]
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 Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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: Tracy L. Perry, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0128; fax
number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: perry.tracy@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 releasing for public comment its human health and ecological
risk assessments and related documents for chlorflurenol and soliciting
public comment on risk management ideas or proposals. EPA developed the
risk assessments and risk characterization for chlorflurenol through a
modified version 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).
Chlorflurenol is a nonfood use herbicide, plant growth retardant,
and plant growth regulator used in agricultural, commercial, and
residential settings. As an herbicide or plant growth retardant, it is
used for the postemergent control of annual grasses, broadleaf weeds,
trees, shrubs and vines for nonagricultural rights-of-way (e.g.,
utility lines), lawns, ornamental turf (including golf courses and
parks), and high density forestry management areas. As a plant growth
regulator, chlorflurenol is used in the production of pineapple
planting material (sliplets); this use is considered to be nonfood as
no finite residues are expected. Chlorflurenol is registered in
emulsifiable concentrate and granular formulations.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide comments and input on the Agency's risk
assessments for chlorflurenol. Such comments and input could address,
for example, the availability of additional data to further refine the
risk assessments, such as worker, residential, and drinking water
exposure data and ecological effects data, or could address the
Agency's risk assessment methodologies and assumptions as applied to
this specific pesticide.
Through this notice, EPA also is providing an opportunity for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for chlorflurenol. Risks of concern
associated with the use of chlorflurenol are: dermal occupational risks
from applying liquid sprays with rights-of-way equipment at 3 to 5 lbs
active ingredient/acre (a.i./A); post-application dermal risks for
adults at 3 lbs a.i./A; post-application dermal risks to toddlers from
high contact activity on lawns at 1 to 3 lbs a.i./A; and risks to
infants from chronic exposure to drinking water using modeled ground
water estimated concentrations. Risk could not be precluded for
terrestrial and aquatic organisms and plants due to a lack of data;
limited data suggest potential chronic risk to mammals. In targeting
these risks of concern, the Agency solicits information on effective
and practical risk reduction measures.
EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color,
national origin, or income, in the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help
address potential environmental justice issues, the Agency seeks
information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a
result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may
have atypical, unusually high exposure to chlorflurenol, compared to
the general population.
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
[[Page 64264]]
Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14, 2004 (69 FR
26819)(FRL-7357-9), explains that in conducting these programs, the
Agency is tailoring its public participation process to be commensurate
with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of the issues, and
degree of public concern associated with each pesticide. For
chlorflurenol, a modified, 4-Phase process with one comment period and
ample opportunity for public consultation seems appropriate in view of
its limited use. However, if as a result of comments received during
this comment period EPA finds that additional issues warranting further
discussion are raised, the Agency may lengthen the process and include
a second comment period, as needed.
All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES,
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments
will become part of the Agency Docket for chlorflurenol. Comments
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.''
EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
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: October 24, 2006.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-18398 Filed 10-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S