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fwd: Endocrine Disruptors; Notice of Public Meeting
>Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 09:50:22 -0500
>Reply-To: epa-tox@unixmail.rtpnc.epa.gov
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>From: everybody <guest@swais.access.gpo.gov>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <epa-tox@webster.rtpnc.epa.gov>
>Subject: Endocrine Disruptors; Notice of Public Meeting
>X-Comment: U.S. EPA FEDERAL REGISTER TOXIC documents
>
>[Federal Register: October 17, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 202)]
>[Notices]
>[Page 54195-54196]
>>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
>
>=======================================================================
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
>
>[OPPTS-42188; FRL-5571-2]
>
>
>Endocrine Disruptors; Notice of Public Meeting
>
>AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
>ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>SUMMARY: EPA is holding a public meeting with interested stakeholder
>groups to assist the Agency in forming a committee under the provisions
>of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide advice on the
>screening and testing of chemicals and pesticides for their potential
>to disrupt endocrine function in humans and wildlife. This is the
>second of such meetings. The first meeting was held May 15-16, 1996, in
>Washington DC. Persons who attended the first meeting or placed their
>names on a list to be kept informed of further developments will be
>notified of this meeting by letter, and will receive additional
>information regarding the formation of the committee and nominees for
>committee membership.
>
>DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 31 and November 1,
>1996, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
>
>ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Washington, DC, at the Sheraton
>City Centre Hotel, 1143 New Hampshire Ave NW (3 blocks NE of the Foggy
>Bottom Metro station at New Hampshire Ave and M St. NW). Telephone:
>202-775-0800.
>
>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons who want to attend this
>meeting should register with Donald Walker no later than October 24,
>1996. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come basis. Persons with
>reservations should arrive at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting to
>ensure that their seat is not given to someone on the waiting list.
>Persons who do not have a reservation will be admitted to the meeting
>only if space is available.
> To register or to obtain additional information (such as the
>summary of the May 15 and 16 meeting) please contact: Donald Walker,
>TASCON Corp; telephone: (301) 907-3844 x 247; fax: (301) 907-9655; e-
>mail: dwalker@tascon.com. For technical information, contact Anthony
>Maciorowski (202) 260-3048, e-mail: maciorowski.anthony@epamail.epa.gov
>or Gary Timm (202) 260-1859, e-mail: timm.gary@epamail.epa.gov at EPA.
>SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A growing body of scientific research
>indicates that many man-made chemicals may interfere with the normal
>functioning of human and wildlife endocrine systems. These endocrine
>disruptors may cause a variety of problems with development, behavior,
>and reproduction. Although many chemicals have undergone extensive
>toxicological testing, it is unclear whether this testing has been
>adequate to detect the potential for these chemicals to disrupt
>endocrine functioning or what additional testing is needed for EPA to
>assess and characterize risk. Notwithstanding recognition that the
>scientific knowledge related to endocrine disruptors is still evolving,
>there is widespread agreement that the development of a screening and
>testing program is appropriate. Recent legislation (reauthorization of
>the Safe Drinking Water Act and passage of the Food Quality Protection
>Act) has mandated that such a screening and testing program be
>developed by EPA. Further, underlying authority for EPA to consider
>implementation of such a program is found in the existing Federal
>Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Toxic
>Substances Control Act (TSCA).
> EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances is
>taking the lead for EPA on endocrine disruption screening and testing
>issues. EPA began its efforts to develop a screening and testing
>strategy by obtaining the views of stakeholders at a meeting on May 15-
>16, 1996 (61 FR 20814, May 8, 1996) (FRL-5369-8). At the May
>stakeholder's meeting participants generally agreed that government,
>industry, academia and public interest groups should work
>collaboratively to develop a screening and testing strategy. EPA has
>concluded that a FACA chartered committee would be the best means of
>providing assistance in developing such a strategy and proposes to
>establish the Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory
>Committee (EDSTAC). The purpose of EDSTAC will be to provide advice and
>counsel to the Agency on a strategy to screen and test endocrine
>disrupting chemicals in humans, fish, and wildlife. This strategy will
>be aimed at developing information and methods for reducing risk to
>human health and the environment. EPA expects the EDSTAC to take a
>consensus approach to reaching their findings and recommendations.
> Subject to consideration by the members of the proposed EDSTAC, the
>goals of an EPA-led dialogue on screening and testing for endocrine
>disruption may be to:
> 1. Develop a flexible process to select and prioritize chemicals
>for screening, recognizing the need to obtain and use appropriate
>exposure information in setting appropriate priorities.
> 2. Develop a process for identifying new and existing screening
>tests and mechanisms for their validation.
> 3. Agree on a set of available, validated screening tests for early
>application.
> 4. Develop a process and criteria for deciding when additional
>tests, beyond screening tests, are needed and how any of these
>additional tests will be validated.
> These goals are likely to be pursued sequentially. These goals will
>also be pursued in a manner that recognizes that the data that will be
>available as a result of the endocrine disrupter screening and testing
>program will be used to reduce risk to human health. It is anticipated
>that this overarching risk management goal will eventually require the
>development of approaches to: Synthesize exposure and hazard
>information; and incorporate synthesized exposure and hazard
>information into risk reduction and risk management decisions.
> For the EDSTAC to be successful, the Committee will have to clearly
>communicate to the public areas of agreement and recommendations. In
>addition, as components of a screening and testing program are agreed
>upon and implemented, processes need to be developed to clearly
>communicate to
>
>[[Page 54196]]
>
>the public the information resulting from priority setting, screening,
>testing, and risk management decision-making.
> EPA's intention is for the EDSTAC to be a consensus-building
>process. EDSTAC, therefore, needs to be structured in a manner
>conducive to collaboration and consensus building. In particular,
>EDSTAC's structure needs to balance the demand for inclusion of key
>stakeholders and relevant expertise with the need for a manageable
>number of participants. EPA believes that it is important to have
>representatives of the chemicals industry, Federal and state
>government; representatives from environmental, public health, and
>labor organizations; and scientific expertise from academia on the
>Committee. EDSTAC members will discuss both policy and scientific
>issues in an attempt to develop consensus recommendations on how to
>create and implement an endocrine disrupter screening and testing
>program. The group is expected to meet approximately once every two
>months over a period of one year. Because it will not be possible to
>include all of those who have an interest in this issue, opportunities
>will be provided during the course of EDSTAC's deliberations to ensure
>that all voices will be heard. One of the primary agenda items for the
>October 31-November 1, 1996, meeting is to address questions of
>formation and membership of EDSTAC and procedures for ensuring that all
>stakeholders have an opportunity to be heard on the issues.
>
> Dated: October 11, 1996.
>
>Lynn R. Goldman,
>Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
>Substances.
>[FR Doc. 96-26811 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
>BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
>
Tony Tweedale || "I'm not going to get involved in any of
Bx 7941 || that peer-reviewed mumbo-jumbo."
Missoula, MT 59807 || -Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)
406-542-1709, ||
fax 728-0867 ||
ttweed@wildrockies.org || " 'Are the people being protected?'
|| is too narrow a question."
|| -API lobbyists meeting,
12/12/96
||
------------------|| "A species becomes extinct every 20 sec's.
Surely one must come into existence every 20 sec's?"
-Rep. Helen Chenowith (R-ID)