Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP); Near-Term Strategies for Implementation; Notice of Availability and Request for Comment

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of and soliciting comment on the near-term strategies described in this document to help the Agency meet its obligations and commitments under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which requires, among other things, that EPA screen for and protect against endocrine disrupting effects in humans. An important part of these obligations and commitments is the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), which EPA established in 1998 as a two-tier endocrine screening and testing process for pesticides and other chemicals. After over two decades of implementing the EDSP and other aspects of the mandate in FFDCA, EPA has developed near-term strategies to begin addressing the challenges it has encountered and to rebuild the EDSP. This document covers only the initial strategies that EPA is taking over the next several years to generate momentum toward its longer-term goal of timely addressing all its endocrine screening data needs and decisions. Through this notice and to help implement its strategies, EPA is also seeking additional endocrine data on two groups of active ingredients currently undergoing registration review, or explanations of why the additional data are unnecessary for EPA to make its FIFRA and FFDCA decisions.