Notice2024-13009
Acute Aquatic Life Screening Values for 6PPD and 6PPD-Quinone in Freshwater
Primary source
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Published
June 13, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of Acute Freshwater Aquatic Life Screening Values for 6PPD (N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine) and its transformation product 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q; N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'- phenyl-p-phenylenediamine quinone). The EPA developed these screening values as information under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a)(2)(B) on factors for the protection of aquatic life. States and authorized Tribes may consider these screening values in their water quality protection programs. The screening values for acute exposures to 6PPD and 6PPD-q in freshwater are 8,900 nanograms per liter (ng/L) and 11 ng/L, respectively. Consistent with CWA section 304(a)(2), the EPA expects to update these screening values from time to time as new information becomes available. This announcement is in accordance with CWA section 304(a)(3), which directs the EPA to publish information developed under 304(a)(2) in the Federal Register and make it available to States, authorized Tribes, and the public.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 115 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 115 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50325-50326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13009]
[[Page 50325]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-11976-01-OW]
Acute Aquatic Life Screening Values for 6PPD and 6PPD-Quinone in
Freshwater
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
the availability of Acute Freshwater Aquatic Life Screening Values for
6PPD (N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine) and its
transformation product 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q; N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-
phenyl-p-phenylenediamine quinone). The EPA developed these screening
values as information under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(a)(2)(B)
on factors for the protection of aquatic life. States and authorized
Tribes may consider these screening values in their water quality
protection programs. The screening values for acute exposures to 6PPD
and 6PPD-q in freshwater are 8,900 nanograms per liter (ng/L) and 11
ng/L, respectively. Consistent with CWA section 304(a)(2), the EPA
expects to update these screening values from time to time as new
information becomes available. This announcement is in accordance with
CWA section 304(a)(3), which directs the EPA to publish information
developed under 304(a)(2) in the Federal Register and make it available
to States, authorized Tribes, and the public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Jarvis, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division, Office of Water (Mail Code 4304T), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-1163; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa909b888c9389d49b979b949e9bba9f8a9bd49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9d3d8cbcfd0ca97d8d4d8d7ddd8f9dcc9d897ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What are 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone and how do they affect aquatic life?
6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q) is a breakdown product of the rubber-tire
antioxidant compound 6PPD (N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-
phenylenediamine). Detections of 6PPD and 6PPD-q in waterways across
the United States and elsewhere indicate that they are present in
aquatic systems and may present a potential risk to aquatic organisms.
Although ``urban stream syndrome'' or ``urban runoff mortality
syndrome'' (URMS) was first reported in Puget Sound during monitoring
of urban streams between 1999 and 2001, URMS was not linked to 6PPD-q
until 2021 by Tian et al. (2021). URMS describes the death of adult
salmon fish (particularly coho salmon) returning from the ocean to
urban waterways and was first reported in Puget Sound (Washington, USA)
during monitoring of urban streams between 1999 and 2001.
II. What are aquatic life screening values?
The EPA derived these screening values in accordance with section
304(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to provide States, authorized
Tribes, and stakeholders with the best available information on the
toxicity of 6PPD and 6PPD-q to aquatic organisms. They are distinct
from national recommended ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) issued
in accordance with the provisions of section 304(a)(1) of the CWA for
protection of aquatic life from toxic chemicals. Empirical data are
very limited for 6PPD and 6PPD-q and do not fulfill the EPA's data
requirements for deriving national recommended AWQC. Further, much of
the available data were developed using aquatic toxicity testing
approaches that do not fully conform with EPA's 850 Ecological Effects
Test Guidelines or other standard test guidelines, such as those of the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These deviations from
standard testing methods made the derived toxicity values and the
derived screening values more uncertain than national recommended AWQC.
These screening values are based solely on data and scientific
judgments about the relationship between 6PPD and 6PPD-q concentrations
and potential effects to aquatic organisms.
What are EPA's 6PPD and 6PPD-q aquatic life screening values in
freshwater?
The EPA's 6PPD and 6PPD-q aquatic life screening value documents
provide a critical review of 6PPD and 6PPD-q toxicity data, quantify
the toxicity of these chemicals to aquatic life based on available
data, and provide separate acute screening values for 6PPD and 6PPD-q.
Under CWA section 304(a)(2)(B), the EPA develops, from time to
time, information ``on the factors necessary for the protection and
propagation of shellfish, fish, and wildlife.'' The EPA developed the
6PPD and 6PPD-q acute screening values (Table 1 of this document) to
support protection of most freshwater aquatic communities. The EPA's
acute screening values are the maximum concentrations of 6PPD and 6PPD-
q (individually, not in mixtures), with associated frequency and
duration specifications, that are expected to support protection of
aquatic life from acute effects in freshwaters based on currently
available science (see Table 1 of this document). There were
insufficient data for 6PPD and 6PPD-q to derive chronic screening
values in freshwaters, and acute and chronic values in estuarine/marine
waters.
In accordance with CWA section 304(a)(2)(B), the acute freshwater
screening values for 6PPD and 6PPD-q are provided only as information
for States and authorized Tribes that they may consider for the
protection of aquatic life as part of their water quality protection
programs. The development of aquatic life screening values as
information under CWA section 304(a)(2) does not impose legally binding
requirements on the EPA or the regulated community. Further, the
aquatic life screening values are not regulations and do not substitute
for the CWA or the EPA's regulations.
Table 1--Recommended Aquatic Life Acute Screening Values for Freshwater
(ng/L)
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6PPD 6PPD-q
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8,900 11
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Duration................................ 1 hour
Frequency............................... Not to be exceeded more than
once in three years on average
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[[Page 50326]]
Bruno Pigott,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-13009 Filed 6-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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