Recent Additions for 2011

EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announced a public meeting of the CASAC Ozone Review Panel to conduct a peer review of EPA's Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (Second External Review Draft--September 2011). [Federal Register Notice Dec 8, 2011]

EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment period for the document, Second External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (EPA/600/R-10/076B). The new deadline for submitting comments is December 30, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Nov 28, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Toxicological Review of Dichloromethane (DCM): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). This includes an updated Summary for DCM and an accompanying toxicological review. Additionally, as per the 2009 IRIS process, all comments received from federal agencies and White House offices on draft IRIS assessments will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the Interagency Science Discussion Draft of the Dichloromethane IRIS assessment have also been released. (Updated: 11/23/11)

The SAB Staff Office is seeking nominations of experts to serve on the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee to provide advice regarding Toxicological Reviews of environmental chemicals available on EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Candidates should have knowledge in human health risk assessment and expertise in a range of disciplines including, but not limited to: public health; epidemiology; toxicology; modeling; biostatistics; and risk assessment. Members of the SAB and its subcommittees constitute a distinguished body of non-EPA scientists, engineers, economists, and social scientists that are nationally and internationally-recognized experts in their respective fields from academia, industry, state, and Tribal governments, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations. Members of SAB committees are appointed by the EPA Administrator for a period of three years. The deadline for nominations closes Jan 6, 2012. [Federal Register Notice Nov 18, 2011]

EPA has released the draft report, BASINS and WEPP Climate Assessment Tools: Case Study Guide to Potential Applications, for a 30-day public review and comment period. This report supports application of two recently developed water modeling tools, the BASINS and WEPP climate assessment tools. The report presents a series of short case studies designed to illustrate the capabilities of these tools for conducting scenario based assessments of the potential future effects of climate change on water resources. The deadline for submitting comments is December 19, 2011. [Federal Register November 17, 2011]

EPA has announced that they have reopened the public comment period for the review of the IRIS Toxicological Review of n-Butanol (External Review Draft) (originally announced in an August 31, 2011 Federal Register Notice) until December 7, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Nov 16, 2011]

EPA has announced an extension of the public comment period for the review of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Vanadium Pentoxide (External Review Draft) (originally announced in an September 30, 2011 Federal Register Notice) to December 29, 2011. In addition, the listening session has also been rescheduled for December 8, 2011.
[Federal Register Notice Nov 9, 2011]

EPA is announcing the report Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook is availble on-line. This final report provides a summary of the recommended exposure factors extracted from the more comprehensive, Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Edition posted on-line on September 30, 2011. Excerpts of each chapter of the Handbook and summaries of key recommendations for each of the exposure factors are provided. [Federal Register Notice Nov 3, 2011]

On July 22, 2011, an external peer review panel meeting was hosted by an independent contractor on the Toxicological Review of Methanol (Non-Cancer): In Support of the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Completing this review, a final report of the comments from the workshop were collected and is now available.

EPA is announcing the release of the final document, Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook, a report that presents an overview of the information provided in the recently released final report, Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Edition. The Highlights document provides excerpts from each of the Handbook chapters with summaries of key recommendations.

EPA is announcing the release of the final document, Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Edition, a report that provides the most up-to-date data on the various human factors used in assessing exposure. These factors include: drinking water consumption, soil ingestion, inhalation rates, dermal factors including skin area and soil adherence factors, consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, meats, dairy products, homegrown foods, human milk intake, human activity factors, consumer product use, and building characteristics. [Federal Register Notice Oct 3, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). This includes an updated Summary for TCA and an accompanying toxicological review. Additionally, as per the 2009 IRIS process, all comments received from federal agencies and White House offices on draft IRIS assessments will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the Interagency Science Discussion Draft of the Trichloroacetic Acid IRIS assessment have also been released.

EPA announces the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Vanadium Pentoxide for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA has also announced that a public listening session will be held on November 17, 2011. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the Vanadium Pentoxide IRIS assessment has also been released. The deadline for comments is November 29, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Sep 30, 2011]

EPA announces the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA has also announced that a public listening session will be held on November 16, 2011. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the Biphenyl IRIS assessment has also been released. The deadline for comments is November 29, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Sep 30, 2011]

EPA is announcing the availability of A Summary of Publications on the Development of Mode-of-Action Information and Statistical Tools for Evaluating Health Outcomes from Drinking Water Disinfection By-Product (DBP) Exposures. This set of publications develops mode-of-action data and statistical methods for expanding beyond single chemical human health risk assessments of exposure to disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water to the evaluation of complex mixtures of DBPs. Five publications are publically available. The publications are related to the EPA's "Four Lab Study" experiments, which have been conducted to provide toxicology and chemistry data on environmentally-relevant mixtures of DBPs and to improve estimation of the potential human health risks associated with exposure to DBP mixtures.

EPA is announcing the availability of the report, Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (Second External Review Draft) for public review and comment. The deadline for comments is November 29, 2011. [Federal Register Sep 30, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Development of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Models to Predict the Carcinogenic Potency of Chemicals . This research provides an alternate approach to the risk assessment community in their efforts to prioritize and screen potential carcinogenic chemicals at hazardous sites for clean-up considerations.

EPA announces the release of the final report, Status Report: Advances in Inhalation Dosimetry for Gases with Lower Respiratory Tract and Systemic Effects (EPA/600/R-11/067). This status report provides a review of advances in the state-of-the-science for interspecies inhalation gas dosimetry related to the lower respiratory tract and the body.

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene (TCE): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). This includes an updated Summary for TCE and an accompanying toxicological review. Additionally, as per the 2009 IRIS process, all comments received from federal agencies and White House offices on draft IRIS assessments will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the Interagency Science Discussion Draft of the Trichloroethylene IRIS assessment have also been released.

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Toxicological Review of Hexachloroethane (HCE): In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). This includes an updated Summary for HCE and an accompanying toxicological review. Additionally, as per the 2009 IRIS process, all comments received from federal agencies and White House offices on draft IRIS assessments will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the Interagency Science Discussion Draft of the Hexachloroethane IRIS assessment have also been released.

EPA announces the availability of the final report,An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes: Evaluation of Where Land Protection Planning Can Incorporate Climate Change Information. The goal of this report is to assess the feasibility of incorporating climate change impacts into the evaluation of these land protection programs. As part of a portfolio of adaptation strategies, land protection may become more important for jurisdictions, particularly to ameliorate climate change impacts on watersheds and wildlife.
[Federal Register Notice Sep 22, 2011]

EPA has announced an extension of the public comment period for the review of the IRIS Toxicological Review of 1,4-Dioxane (Inhalation) (External Review Draft) (originally announced in an August 31, 2011 Federal Register Notice) to November 15, 2011. In addition, the Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the 1,4-Dioxane (Inhalation) IRIS assessment has also been released. [Federal Register Notice Sep 15, 2011]

EPA has announced an extension of the public comment period for the review of the IRIS Toxicological Review of n-Butanol (External Review Draft) (originally announced in an August 31, 2011 Federal Register Notice) to November 7, 2011. In addition, EPA has rescheduled the listening session to October 26, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Sep 15, 2011]

EPA has released the IRIS Toxicological Review of 1,4-Dioxane (Inhalation) (External Review Draft) for public review and comment. EPA is extending the close of the public comment period, announced in the August 31, 2011, Federal Register Notice to November 15, 2011. These changes will be announced in a Federal Register Notice shortly. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the 1,4-Dioxane IRIS assessment is temporarily unavailable.

EPA has released the IRIS Toxicological Review of n-Butanol (External Review Draft) for public review and comment. EPA is extending the close of the public comment period, announced in the August 31, 2011, Federal Register Notice to November 14, 2011. The listening session, also announced in the August 31, 2011, Federal Register Notice, has been rescheduled to October 26, 2011. These changes will be announced in a Federal Register Notice shortly. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the n-butanol IRIS assessment has also been released.

EPA has released the draft documents, Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel Approach Using Expert Judgment, Volume I: Results for the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (External Review Draft) and the Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel Approach Using Expert Judgment, Volume II: Results for the Massachusetts Bays Program (External Review Draft), for a 30-day public review and comment period. The reports are pilot ecological vulnerability assessments using a novel methodology, based on expert judgment, to inform adaptation planning under EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries Program. The deadline for comments is October 11, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Sep 8, 2011]

EPA annouces that NCEA's BMDS Web site has been updated with BMDS version 2.2. This update includes key enhancements to the multiple tumor analysis, trend test for dichotomous data, modifications to the dichotomous hill model, the option for variable name changes in sessions, and default headers to save time starting out. Find out more about the improvements to BMDS under the "what's new" section.

EPA announces that the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of 1,4-Dioxane (Inhalation) for a 60-day public review and comment period is temporarily unavailable. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the 1,4-dioxane (Inhalation) IRIS assessment will also be released shortly. EPA has also announced in the federal register notice that a public listening session will be held on October 18, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Aug 31, 2011]

EPA is announcing a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the document, IRIS Toxicological Review of Acrylonitrile (External Review Draft) (EPA/635/R-08/013A). The new deadline for submitting comments is September 28, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Aug 31, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the SAB final report of EPA's draft, "Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity & Response to NAS Comments" which states that the criteria for study selection were applied in a scientifically sound manner and were well described. Concurrently, EPA announced its decision to split the dioxin assessment into 2 portions: 1) Non-cancer assessment, which EPA will complete by the end of Jan 2012. When finalized, the non-cancer assessment will mark a significant milestone for EPA because it is the first time the Agency has set an oral reference dose for dioxin; and a 2) Cancer assessment, which EPA will address as expeditiously as possible after the non-cancer assessment is posted to the IRIS database. [Press Release Aug 29, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Aquatic Ecosystems and Global Change: The Challenges of conducting Multi-Stressor Global Change Vulnerability Assessments. This report investigates the issues and challenges associated with identifying, calculating, and mapping indicators of the relative vulnerability of water quality and aquatic ecosystems, across the United States, to the potential impacts of global change. [Federal Register Notice Sep 6, 2011]

EPA announces the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Libby Amphibole Asbestos for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA has also announced that a public listening session will be held on October 6, 2011. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the Libby Amphibole Asbestos IRIS assessment has also been released. [Federal Register Notice Aug 25, 2011]

On May 12, 2011, an external peer review panel meeting was hosted by an independent contractor on the Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium: In Support of the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Completing this review, a final report of the comments from the workshop were collected and is now available.

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Toxicological Review of Urea: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). This includes an updated Summary for Urea and an accompanying toxicological review. Additionally, as per the 2009 IRIS process, all comments received from federal agencies and White House offices on draft IRIS assessments will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the Interagency Science Discussion Draft of the Urea IRIS assessment have also been released.

EPA announces a plan to further strengthen and streamline its IRIS assessment development process based on recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences in an April 2011 evaluation. [Press Release Jul 12, 2011]

EPA is announcing a two week extension of the public comment period for the document, First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (EPA/600/R-10/075A). The new deadline for submitting comments is July 19, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Jul 1, 2011]

EPA announces the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Acrylonitrile for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA has also announced that a public listening session will be held on August 10, 2011 in Arlington, VA. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the Acrylonitrile IRIS assessment has also been released. [Federal Register Notice Jun 30, 2011]

EPA is announcing an addendum to the IRIS Toxicological Review of Methanol (Non-Cancer) (External Review Draft) document. Included with this announcement is a 14-day public comment period for review of the addendum (only), and the details for an upcoming public workshop to be held on July 22, 2011 in Durham, NC. The deadline for comments is July 6, 2011. [Federal Register Notice Jun 22, 2011]

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Lead Review Panel to to conduct a peer review of EPA's Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (First External Review Draft) and a consultation on EPA's Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document. [Federal Register Notice Jun 21, 2011]

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Ozone Review Panel to conduct a consultation on its draft review of EPA's Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (March 2011 Draft). [Federal Register Notice Jun 3, 2011]

EPA is announcing the availability of the final report, A Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark for Conductivity in Central Appalachian Streams. [Federal Register Notice May 27, 2011]

EPA is announcing the availability of the final report,The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian Coalfields. [Federal Register Notice May 27, 2011]

EPA is announcing the availability of the final report, Problem Formulation for Human Health Risk Assessments of Pathogens in Land-Applied Biosolids. [Federal Register May 26, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the draft document, Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (Pb) for public review and comment. This draft document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases for EPA's decision regarding the adequacy of the current national ambient air quality standards for lead to protect human health, public welfare, and the environment. [Federal Register May 6, 2011]

EPA announces the release of the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Methanol (non-cancer) for a 60-day public review and comment period. In addition, EPA has also announced that a public listening session will be held on May 26, 2011 in Arlington, VA. The Interagency Science Consultation Draft of the Methanol (Non-Cancer) IRIS assessment has also been released. [Federal Register Apr 18, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of two draft reports, Implications of Climate Change for Bioassessment Programs and Approaches to Account for Effects (EPA/600/R-11/036A) and its supporting document, Freshwater Biological Traits Database (EPA/600/R-11/038) for a 30-day public review and comment period. The EPA also is announcing an independent peer review workshop that will be held on May 11, 2011. [Federal Register Apr 4, 2011]

EPA announces the release of the final report, A Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark for Conductivity in Central Appalachian Streams. This report describes a method to characterize the relationship between the extirpation (the effective extinction) of invertebrate genera and salinity (measured as conductivity) and from that relationship derives a freshwater aquatic life benchmark.

EPA announces the release of the final report, The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian Coalfields . This report assesses the state of the science on the environmental impacts of Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills (MTM-VF) on streams in the Central Appalachian Coalfields.

EPA is announcing an independent external scientific peer workshop to review the draft human health assessment titled, Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) (EPA/635/R-10/004C). The workshop will be held in Arlington, VA on May 12, 2011. [Federal Register Apr 12, 2011]

EPA announced its plan to address the four draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments that were placed on hold in June 2010, pending a review of some of the underlying studies relied on in the assessments, per a report written by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a program administered by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The four assessments are methanol, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE), and acrylonitrile. EPA and NIEHS decided to jointly sponsor an independent Pathology Working Group (PWG) review, in cooperation with the Ramazzini Institute, of selected studies. The review has begun and will continue over the next several months. [Press Release Apr 11, 2011]

EPA has released the final report from the external peer workshop which convened to evaulate methods of determining cumulative risk associated with exposure to mulitple phthalates for inclusion in the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Human Health Risk Assessment for Selected Phthalates.

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, Problem Formulation for Human Health Risk Assessments of Pathogens in Land-Applied Biosolids. Biosolids are defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "the primarily organic solid product yielded by municipal wastewater treatment processes that can be beneficially recycled." Concerns about the potential human health effects from land applied biosolids can be addressed through a risk assessment. This report is intended to assist anyone involved in risk assessments or the management of pathogens in biosolids and researchers advancing the science in this topic area.

EPA has extended the public comment period for the first external review draft of the document, Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants' (EPA/600/R-10/076A). This assessment document is part of the review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The public comment period began on February 28, 2011, and now ends May 5, 2011. Comments must be received in writing by EPA by May 5, 2011. [Federal Register Mar 28, 2011]

EPA is announcing the availability of the final report, Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices. This report represents a series of case studies describing the approaches taken by U.S. water utility practices to assess their vulnerability to climate change.

EPA's Ecological Risk Assessment Support Center (ERASC) announces the final report, Assessment of Methods for Estimating Risk to Birds from Ingestion of Contaminated Grit Particles. This report evaluates approaches for estimating the probability of ingestion by birds of contaminated particles such as pesticide granules or lead particles.

EPA released four new IRIS assessments and is requesting scientific information on health effects that may result from exposure to these chemical substances. [Federal Register Mar 11, 2011]

EPA announces that the meeting for the external peer review workshop scheduled for March 11, 2011, has been cancelled as the comments from the peer reviewers and the public are not controversial nor conflicting and can be readily accommodated in the final report. [Federal Register, Mar 7, 2011]

EPA announces the draft report, Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants for public review and comment. This draft document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases for EPA's decision regarding the adequacy of the current national ambient air quality standards for ozone to protect human health, public welfare, and the environment. [Federal Register Feb 28, 2011]

EPA annnounces the draft report, Aquatic Ecosystems and Global Change: The Challenges of conducting Multi-Stressor Global Change Vulnerability Assessments, for a 45-day public review and comment period. This draft report investigates the issues and challenges associated with identifying, calculating, and mapping indicators of the relative vulnerability of water quality and aquatic ecosystems to long-term forcings like land-use and climate change. [Federal Register Feb 28, 2011]

EPA is announcing the release of the final report, A Framework Incorporating Community Preferences in Use Attainment and Related Water Quality Decision-Making . This report enables local, state, and tribal managers to better understand the benefits, as well as the costs, of attaining high water quality, and to incorporate community preferences in decision-making.

EPA has released an update (version 2.1) to the Categorical Regression Analysis (CatReg) application utilizing some of the new features of the R program it is based on. CatReg is a computer program, written in the R programming language, to support the conduct of exposure-response analyses by toxicologists and health scientists. CatReg can be used to perform categorical regression analyses on toxicity data after effects have been assigned to ordinal severity categories and associated with up to two independent variables corresponding to the exposure conditions under which the effects occurred.

EPA has released the final report, Stressor Identification (SI) at Contaminated Sites: Upper Arkansas River, Colorado. This report is a case study using the SI methodology and CADDIS to diagnose the causal assessment for impairments of plant growth and plant species richness at a terrestrial contaminated site in a highly mineralized area of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. To learn more about CADDIS, visit http://epa.gov/caddis.

EPA is annnouncing the release of the draft report, Biofuels and the Environment: The First Triennial Report to Congress (EPA/600/R-10/183A), which reviews impacts across the entire biofuel supply chain, including feedstock production and logistics, and biofuel production, distribution, and use. EPA also announces the details and location of the independent peer review meeting to be held on March 14, 2011 in Arlington, VA. [Federal Register Jan 28, 2011]

EPA is announcing a public workshop to discuss issues related to the evaluation of health risks associated with exposures to air pollutant mixtures, focusing on the criteria air pollutants. The workshop will be held February 22-24, 2011, at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, NC. Full details and registration can be found at http://epamulti.icfi.com/Home.aspx.
[Federal Register Jan 27, 2011]

EPA announces the details for the external peer review workshop for the draft report, A Method to Assess Climate-Relevant Decisions: Application in the Chesapeake Bay, to be held March 11, 2011 in Arlington, VA. [Federal Register Jan 25, 2011]

On December 13, 2010, an external peer review panel workshop was hosted by an independent contractor on the Toxicological Review of Urea: In Support of the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk nformation System (IRIS). Completing this review, a final report of the comments from the workshop were collected and is now available.