Notice2022-13852
Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos; Final Scope of the Risk Evaluation To Be Conducted Under the Toxic Substances Control Act; Notice of Availability
Primary source
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Published
June 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
In accordance with implementing regulations for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is announcing the availability of the final scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos. In the Part 2 risk evaluation for asbestos, EPA will evaluate the conditions of use of asbestos (including other types of asbestos fibers in addition to chrysotile) that EPA had excluded from Part 1 as legacy uses and associated disposals, as well as any conditions of use of asbestos-containing talc. The final scope for this chemical substance includes the conditions of use, hazards, exposures, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations that EPA plans to consider in conducting the risk evaluation for this chemical substance.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 124 (Wednesday, June 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38746-38747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13852]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0254; FRL-9347-02-OCSPP]
Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and
Associated Disposals of Asbestos; Final Scope of the Risk Evaluation To
Be Conducted Under the Toxic Substances Control Act; Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with implementing regulations for the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is announcing the availability of
the final scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted for Asbestos
Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated
Disposals of Asbestos. In the Part 2 risk evaluation for asbestos, EPA
will evaluate the conditions of use of asbestos (including other types
of asbestos fibers in addition to chrysotile) that EPA had excluded
from Part 1 as legacy uses and associated disposals, as well as any
conditions of use of asbestos-containing talc. The final scope for this
chemical substance includes the conditions of use, hazards, exposures,
and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations that EPA
plans to consider in conducting the risk evaluation for this chemical
substance.
ADDRESSES: The docket, identified by docket identification (ID) number
EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0254, is available online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or in-person at the Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), Environmental Protection Agency Docket
Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Additional information about
visiting the docket is available at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information contact:
Peter Gimlin, Existing Chemical Risk Management Division, Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency
(Mailcode 7404T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001;
telephone number: (202) 566-0515; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#197e707475707737697c6d7c6b597c6978377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80e7e9edece9eeaef0e5f4e5f2c0e5f0e1aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>.
For general information contact: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill,
422 South Clinton Ave. Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202)
554-1404; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#40141303016d082f342c292e25002530216e272f36"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e0a0d1d1f7316312a3237303b1e3b2e3f70393128">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 entities that manufacture (including import) a chemical
substance regulated under TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., (e.g., entities
identified under North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) codes 325 and 324110). The action may also be of interest to
chemical processors, distributors in commerce, and users; non-
governmental organizations in the environmental and public health
sectors; state and local government agencies; and members of the
public. Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not
attempted to describe all the specific entities and corresponding NAICS
codes for entities that may be interested in or affected by this
action.
B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?
The final scope document is issued pursuant to TSCA section
6(b)(4)(D) and TSCA implementing regulations at 40 CFR 702.41(c)(8).
C. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA is publishing the final scope of the risk evaluation for
Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and
Associated Disposals of Asbestos. Through the TSCA risk evaluation
process, EPA will determine whether the chemical substance presents an
unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment without
consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an
unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation
identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by the Administrator, in
accordance with TSCA section 6(b)(4).
II. Background
In June 2016, EPA designated asbestos as one the first 10 chemicals
to undergo risk evaluation under TSCA, as amended by Frank R.
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. EPA initially
focused the risk evaluation for asbestos on chrysotile asbestos as this
is the only asbestos fiber type that is currently imported, processed,
or distributed in the United States. However, in late 2019, the court
in Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, 943 F.3d 397 (9th Cir.
2019) held that EPA's Risk Evaluation Procedural Rule (82 FR 33726,
July 20, 2017 (FRL-9964-38)) should not have excluded ``legacy uses''
(i.e., uses without ongoing or prospective manufacturing, processing,
or distribution) or ``associated disposals'' (i.e., future disposal of
legacy uses) from the definition of conditions of use, although the
court did uphold EPA's exclusion of ``legacy disposals'' (i.e., past
disposal).
Following this court ruling, EPA continued development of the risk
evaluation focused on chrysotile asbestos and determined that the risk
evaluation for asbestos would be issued in two parts. The risk
evaluation for Asbestos Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos was released in
January 2021 (86 FR 89, January 4, 2021; FRL-10017-43), allowing the
Agency to expeditiously move into risk management for the unreasonable
risk identified in Part 1. Under the consent decree in the case
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization et al v. Regan et al, 4:21-
[[Page 38747]]
cv-03716 (N.D. Cal.), EPA is required to publish a final Part 2 Risk
Evaluation for Asbestos on or before December 1, 2024. The final scope
of the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2 is the subject of this
notice.
The purpose of a risk evaluation is to determine whether a chemical
substance presents an unreasonable risk to health or the environment,
without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an
unreasonable risk to a relevant potentially exposed or susceptible
subpopulation, under the conditions of use (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)(4)(A)).
As part of this process, EPA must evaluate both hazards and exposures
for the conditions of use; describe whether aggregate or sentinel
exposures were considered and the basis for consideration; not consider
costs or other nonrisk factors; take into account where relevant,
likely duration, intensity, frequency, and number of exposures; and
describe the weight-of-scientific-evidence for hazards and exposures
(15 U.S.C. 2605(b)(4)(F)). This process will culminate in a
determination of whether or not the chemical substance presents an
unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the
conditions of use (15 U.S.C. 2605(b)(4)(A); 40 CFR 702.47).
III. Information and Comments Received on the Draft Scope
In the Federal Register of December 29, 2021 (Ref. 1), EPA
announced the availability of the draft scope document for the Part 2
risk evaluation for asbestos to be conducted under TSCA and invited
public comments on EPA's draft scope document, including additional
data or information relevant to the chemical substance or that
otherwise could be useful to the Agency in finalizing the scope of the
risk evaluation. To the extent that comments provided information on
conditions of use, as well as other elements of the draft scope
document, those comments and other submitted information (e.g.,
relevant studies, assessments, information on degradation products, and
information on conditions of use) were used to inform revisions to the
draft scope document and may be considered in subsequent phases of the
risk evaluation process.
EPA received 38 unique submissions, including comments from
potentially affected businesses or trade associations, environmental
and public health advocacy groups, and members of the general public.
Comments addressed the overall approach to the risk evaluation
process (e.g., collection, consideration, and systematic review of
relevant information), the specific elements of the scope document
(e.g., human hazard, exposure, and potentially exposed or susceptible
subpopulations), information specific to asbestos (e.g., physical-
chemical properties and fate, relevant studies, and conditions of use),
and topics beyond the draft scope document phase of the TSCA section 6
process (e.g., risk management). EPA considered those comments, as
applicable and appropriate, in developing the final scope document.
Concurrently with the publication of the final scope document, EPA is
publishing a response to comments document that contains a
comprehensive summary of and response to public comments received on
the draft scope document for Part 2 of the Risk Evaluation for
Asbestos. The comprehensive response to comments document is available
in the docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0254 (Ref. 2).
IV. References
The following is a listing of the documents that are specifically
referenced in this Federal Register notice. The docket for this action
includes these documents and other information considered by EPA,
including documents that are referenced within the documents that are
included in the docket. For assistance in locating these referenced
documents, please consult the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. EPA. Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy
Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos; Draft Scope of the Risk
Evaluation To Be Conducted Under the Toxic Substances Control Act;
Notice of Availability and Request for Comments. Federal Register.
(86 FR 74088, December 29, 2021) (FRL-9347-01-OCSPP).
2. EPA. EPA Response to Public Comments Received on the Draft Scopes
of the Risk Evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA) for: Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including
Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos (June 2022).
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
Dated: June 24, 2022.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2022-13852 Filed 6-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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