US EPA

These papers have been developed in support of an ongoing effort within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop an integrated framework for metals risk assessment. In September 2002, a cross-Agency technical panel discussed plans for the development of the framework and associated guidance with the Agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB). During the advisory, the SAB affirmed the importance of incorporating external input into the Agency's effort. As part of the effort to engage stakeholders and the scientific community and to build on existing experience, the Agency commissioned external experts to lead the development of papers on issues and state-of-the-art approaches in metals risk assessment for several key topics. Topics identified include: environmental chemistry; exposure; ecological effects; human health effects; and bioavailability and bioaccumulation. (Some individual EPA experts contributed specific discussions on topic(s) for which he or she has either specific expertise or knowledge of current Agency practice). Although Agency technical staff, as well as representatives from other Federal agencies, reviewed and commented on previous drafts, the comments were addressed at the discretion of each respective author or group of authors. Therefore, the views expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed as implying EPA consent or endorsement.

The draft papers are being made available for public comment consistent with EPA's commitment to provide opportunities for external input. Science-based comments received on these papers will be made available to authors for final disposition.

The public comment period ended November 7, 2003. Comments on these papers may be viewed by selecting search and then keying in the ID number OAR-2003-0192 at regulations.gov.

A public meeting was held for EPA to receive comment on the scientific white papers on Tuesday October 28, 2003 in Washington D.C. (Focus questions, meeting location, and registration procedures are detailed in the October 14, 2003 Federal Register Notice).