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2-Octyl-3 (2H)-isothiazolone (Octhilinone) Risk Assessment; Notice of Availability and Risk Reduction Options; Reopening of Comment Period

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.



[Federal Register: July 18, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 137)]
[Notices]
[Page 39418-39420]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jy07-70]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0414; FRL-8141-7]

2-Octyl-3 (2H)-isothiazolone (Octhilinone) Risk Assessment; Notice of
Availability and Risk Reduction Options; Reopening of Comment Period

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 pesticide 2-octyl-3 (2H)-
isothiazolone (also known as octhilinone or OIT), 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
octhilinone through a modified, 4-Phase public participation process
that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide
reregistration decisions. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that
all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0414, 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2007-0414. 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

[[Page 39419]]

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 Facility telephone number is (703)
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: K. Avivah Jakob, Antimicrobials
Division (7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-1328; fax number: (703) 308-8481; e-
mail address: jakob.kathryn@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. What Action is EPA taking?

    EPA is reopening the availability of the Agency's preliminary human
health and ecological risk assessments, initially issued for comment
through a Federal Register notice published on June 13, 2007
(72 FR 32649) (FRL-8136-2). EPA developed the risk assessments and risk
characterization for octhilinone 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). Octhilinone is used as a material
preservative, as an industrial mildewcide for cooling tower and air
washer water systems, and as a wood preservative.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for octhilinone. Risks of concern associated
with use of octhilinone are: Occupational handler exposure and risks of
concern resulting from plastics and vinyl preservation (via liquid pump
and liquid pour), paint preservation (via liquid pump and liquid pour),
wood preservation (via mixing, loading, high pressure/high volume
spraying), professional painter application (via airless sprayer) and
use of treated paint; residential application and post-application
risks of concern resulting from treated paint, treated carpet, treated
vinyl, treated clothing and treated mattresses; and residential
aggregate exposure and risks of concern resulting from treated fabrics,
clothing and polymers. 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, 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 octhilinone, a modified, 4-Phase process with 1 comment
period and ample opportunity for public consultation seems appropriate
in view of its refined risk assessment. 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 octhilinone. 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 octhilinone RED.

III. 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, antimicrobials,
octhilinone, OIT.

[[Page 39420]]

    Dated: July 11, 2007.
Frank Sanders,
Director, Antimicrobials Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-13805 Filed 7-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S

 
 

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