Environmental Assessment

2009 Dioxin Re-Assessment Workshop

Archive disclaimer
Archived files are provided for reference purposes only. The file was current when produced, but is no longer maintained and may now be outdated. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing archived files may contact the NCEA Webmaster for assistance. Please visit http://epa.gov/ncea to access current information.

Report Information

EPA announced a

Scientific Workshop To Inform EPA's Response to
National Academy of Science Comments on the Health
Effects of Dioxin in EPA's 2003 Dioxin Reassessment
Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati, OH
Held: February 18-20, 2009

The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), a part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development, sponsored a three-day public, scientific workshop, including a public review of the recent scientific literature on 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) dose-response, to assist EPA in responding to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, Health Risks from Dioxin and Related Compounds: Evaluation of the EPA Reassessment (NAS, 2006). (See 73 FR 70999 for information on the preliminary literature search results for TCDD dose-response. The literature search was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratories.)

The Track Group, an EPA contractor, organized and facilitated this workshop. Members of the public were invited to attend the workshop as observers and could participate in open comment periods.

FR Notice: Dec 29, 2008

Bette Zwayer

by phone at: 513-569-7575
by fax at: 513-569-7916
by email at: zwayer.bette@epa.gov

Background

At the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) prepared a report, Health Risks from Dioxin and Related Compounds: Evaluation of the EPA Reassessment (NAS, 2006), that made a number of recommendations to improve the U.S. EPA’s risk assessment for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). In response, the U.S. EPA will prepare a technical report that addresses key comments on the dose-response assessment for TCDD. The U.S. EPA intends to develop its response through a transparent process that provides multiple opportunities for input.

To assist in this effort, a workshop will be held to inform the U.S. EPA’s evaluation of the NAS recommendations. The Workshop will be open to the public. At the Workshop, the U.S. EPA will solicit input from expert scientists and the public.

The goal of the Workshop is to ensure that the U.S. EPA’s response to the NAS comments focuses on the key issues and reflects the most meaningful science. The three main objectives of the Workshop are to (1) identify and discuss the technical challenges involved in addressing the NAS key comments on the TCDD dose-response assessment in the U.S. EPA Reassessment (U.S. EPA, 2003), (2) discuss approaches for addressing these comments, and (3) identify key published, independently peer-reviewed literature, particularly studies describing epidemiologic and in vivo mammalian bioassays, which are expected to be most useful for informing the U.S. EPA response.