Fifty-Sixth Report of the TSCA Interagency Testing Committee to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Receipt of Report and Request for Comments

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) transmitted its 56^th ITC Report to the Administrator of EPA on September 15, 2005. In the 56^th ITC Report, which is included with this notice, the ITC is revising the TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List by adding 5 High Production Volume (HPV) orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds and removing 28 HPV orphan chemicals, 3 pyridinamine compounds, 6 indium compounds, and 6 vanadium compounds. The ITC is requesting that EPA add the 5 HPV orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds to the TSCA section 8(a) Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting (PAIR) rule and the 5 HPV orphan chemicals to the TSCA section 8(d) Health and Safety Data Reporting (HaSDR) rule. To facilitate the efforts of EPA, other Federal and State agencies, interested stakeholders, and members of the public in obtaining basic health effects and environmental data on HPV chemicals, the ITC conducted a December 2004 Data-Availability Study of 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 Inventory Update Rules (IURs), but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs. The study is discussed and the list of 235 substances is appended to this 56^th ITC Report.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before November 23, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number OPPT-2005-0039, may be submitted electronically, by mail, or through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Colby Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division (7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; e-mail address: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This notice is directed to the public in general. It may, however, be of particular interest to you if you manufacture (defined by statute to include import) and/or process TSCA-covered chemicals and you may be identified by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes 325 and 32411. Because this notice is directed to the general public and other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be interested in this action. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this action under docket ID number OPPT-2005-0039. The official public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other information related to this action. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at the EPA Docket Center, Rm. B102-Reading Room, EPA West, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The EPA Docket Center Reading Room telephone number is (202) 566-1744 and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket, which is located in EPA Docket Center, is (202) 566-0280.

2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document electronically through the EPA Internet under the “Federal Register” listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .You may also access additional information about the ITC at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc or through the web site for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) at http://www.epa.gov/opptsfrs/home/opptsim.htm/ .

An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the appropriate docket ID number.

Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in printed, paper form in the official public docket. To the extent feasible, publicly available docket materials will be made available in EPA's electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. EPA intends to work towards providing electronic access to all of the publicly available docket materials through EPA's electronic public docket.

For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.

Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief description written by the docket staff.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

You may submit comments electronically, by mail, or through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket ID number in the subject line on the first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked “late.” EPA is not required to consider these late comments. If you wish to submit CBI or information that is otherwise protected by statute, please follow the instructions in Unit I.D. Do not use EPA Dockets or e-mail to submit CBI or information protected by statute.

1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed in this unit, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.

i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ , and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once in the system, select “search,” and then key in docket ID number OPPT-2005-0039. The system is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by e-mail to oppt.ncic@epa.gov, Attention: Docket ID Number OPPT-2005-0039. In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an “anonymous access” system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.

iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM that you mail to the mailing address identified in Unit I.C.2. These electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption.

2. By mail. Send your comments to: Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.

3. By hand delivery or courier. Deliver your comments to: OPPT Document Control Office (DCO), EPA East Bldg., Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Attention: Docket ID Number OPPT-2005-0039. The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the DCO is (202) 564-8930.

D. How Should I Submit CBI to the Agency?

Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI electronically through EPA's electronic public docket or by e-mail. You may claim information that you submit to EPA as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI (if you submit CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that is CBI). Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes any information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket and EPA's electronic public docket. If you submit the copy that does not contain CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and EPA's electronic public docket without prior notice. If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

We invite you to provide your views and comments on the 56^th ITC Report. You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments:

1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.

2. Describe any assumptions that you used.

3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used that support your views.

4. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.

5. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this notice.

6. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal Register citation.

II. Background

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) authorizes the Administrator of EPA to promulgate regulations under TSCA section 4(a) requiring testing of chemicals and chemical groups in order to develop data relevant to determining the risks that such chemicals and chemical groups may present to health or the environment. Section 4(e) of TSCA established the ITC to recommend chemicals and chemical groups to the Administrator of EPA for priority testing consideration. Section 4(e) of TSCA directs the ITC to revise the TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List at least every 6 months.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Chemicals
• Hazardous substances

Fifty-Sixth Report of the TSCA Interagency Testing Committee to the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Table of Contents

Summary

I. Background

II. TSCA Section 8 Reporting

A. TSCA Section 8 Reporting Rules

B. ITC's Use of TSCA Section 8 and Other Information

C. Previous Requests to Add Chemicals to the TSCA Section 8(a) PAIR and Section 8(d) HaSDR Rules

D. New Requests to Add Chemicals to the TSCA Section 8(a) PAIR and Section 8(d) HaSDR Rules

III. ITC's Activities During this Reporting Period (December 2004 to August 2005)

A. Status of HPV Challenge Program Orphan Chemicals

B. Data-Availability Study for HPV Chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, But Not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs

C. Status of Requests for Data on Vanadium Compounds in Surface Impoundments

IV. Revisions to the TSCA Section 4(e) Priority Testing List

A. Chemicals Added to the Priority Testing List

1. HPV orphan chemicals.

2. Tungsten compounds.

B. Chemicals Removed from the Priority Testing List

1. HPV orphan chemicals.

2. Pyridinamine compounds.

3. Indium compounds.

4. Vanadium compounds.

V. References

VI. The TSCA Interagency Testing Committee

Appendices

A—Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (CAS No.) and TSCA Inventory Names of HPV Orphan Chemicals that the ITC is Requesting EPA Add to TSCA Section 8(a) and 8(d) Rules

B—Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (CAS No.) and TSCA Inventory Names of HPV Chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, But Not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs

SUMMARY

The ITC is revising the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 4(e) Priority Testing List by adding 5 High Production Volume (HPV) orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds and removing 28 HPV orphan chemicals, 3 pyridinamine compounds, 6 indium compounds, and 6 vanadium compounds. The ITC is requesting that EPA add the 5 HPV orphan chemicals and 2 tungsten compounds to the TSCA section 8(a) Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting (PAIR) rule and the 5 HPV orphan chemicals to the TSCA section 8(d) Health and Safety Data Reporting (HaSDR) rule. To facilitate the efforts of EPA, other Federal and State agencies, interested stakeholders and members of the public in obtaining basic health effects and environmental data on HPV chemicals, the ITC conducted a December 2004 data-availability study of 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 Inventory Update Rules (IURs), but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs. The study is discussed and the list of 235 substances is appended to this 56^th ITC Report.

The TSCA section 4(e) Priority Testing List is Table 1 of this section.

I. Background

The ITC was established by section 4(e) of TSCA “to make recommendations to the Administrator respecting the chemical substances and mixtures to which the Administrator should give priority consideration for the promulgation of rules for testing under section 4(a).... At least every six months ..., the Committee shall make such revisions to the Priority Testing List as it determines to be necessary and transmit them to the Administrator together with the Committee's reasons for the revisions” (Public Law 94-469, 90 Stat. 2003 et seq., 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). ITC reports are available from the ITC's web site ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc ) within a few days of submission to the Administrator and from the EPA's web site ( http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr ) after publication in the Federal Register. The ITC produces its revisions to the Priority Testing List with administrative and technical support from the ITC staff, ITC members and their U.S. Government organizations, and contract support provided by EPA. ITC members and staff are listed at the end of this report.

II. TSCA Section 8 Reporting

A. TSCA Section 8 Reporting Rules

Following receipt of the ITC's report (and the revised Priority Testing List) by the EPA Administrator, the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) may add the chemicals from the revised Priority Testing List to the TSCA section 8(a) PAIR or TSCA section 8(d) HaSDR rules. The PAIR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of chemicals added to the Priority Testing List to submit production and exposure reports ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemtest/pairform.pdf ). The HaSDR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of chemicals added to the Priority Testing List to submit unpublished health and safety studies under TSCA section 8(d) that must be in compliance with the revised HaSDR rule (Ref. 1). All submissions to both rules must be received by the EPA within 90 days of the reporting rules' Federal Register publication date, i.e., 60 days from the reporting rules' effective date, because 30 days are allowed for public comment.

B. ITC's Use of TSCA Section 8 and Other Information

The ITC's use of TSCA section 8 and other information is described in the 52^nd ITC Report ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc/rptmain.htm ).

C. Previous Requests to Add Chemicals to the TSCA Section 8(a) PAIR and Section 8(d) HaSDR Rules

In its December 8, 2004, 55^th ITC Report to the EPA Administrator, the ITC added 276 HPV Challenge Program Orphan chemicals to the Priority Testing List, and requested that EPA add them to TSCA section 8(a) PAIR and 8(d) HaSDR rules. HPV Challenge Program chemicals are those with U.S. annual production or importation volumes of 1 million pounds or more reported to EPA in the 1990 IUR ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemrtk/hpv_1990.htm ) supplemented with additional HPV chemicals from the 1994 IUR ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemrtk/hpv_1994.htm ). HPV orphan chemicals are those for which companies have not made commitments under the EPA's HPV Challenge Program to prepare Robust Summaries, sponsor testing, etc.

On February 11, 2005, the 55^th ITC Report was published in the Federal Register and included 270 HPV orphan chemicals (Ref 2). The smaller number of HPV orphan chemicals (270) in the Federal Register version of the 55^th ITC Report was attributed to new commitments for 6 HPV orphan chemicals made by companies under the HPV Challenge Program.

As noted in section IV.B.1., commitments for 2 of the 6 HPV orphan chemicals, ethanol, 2-methoxy- (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (CAS No.) 109-86-4) and tetradecane (CAS No. 629-59-4) were transferred to the International Council of Chemical Association (ICCA) HPV Initiative. As a result, these 2 HPV orphan chemicals will not be added to TSCA section 8(a) PAIR and 8(d) HaSDR rules and are not included in Appendix A.

However, 4 of the 6 HPV orphan chemicals that were not included in the February 11, 2005 Federal Register notice are being retained on the December 8, 2004 Priority Testing List and added back to the February 11, 2005 Priority Testing List because these new commitments were received by EPA after December 8, 2004 (Table 2 of this section).

The commitments for the 8 HPV orphan chemicals in Tables 2 and 3 of this section are being treated as new commitments in accordance with EPA's Policy Regarding Acceptance of New Commitments to Sponsor Chemicals under the HPV Challenge Program. The June 27, 2005 policy is described in http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/hpvpolcy.htm and outlines a process by which EPA continues to encourage commitments from U.S. manufacturers and importers of HPV chemicals and defines specific timelines for submitting test plans and robust summaries.

At this time, the 8 HPV orphan chemicals in Tables 2 and 3 of this section will not be added to TSCA section 8(a) PAIR and 8(d) HaSDR rules and are not included in Appendix A. However, maintaining these 8 HPV orphan chemicals on the Priority Testing List will ensure that recourse to future TSCA 8(a) and 8(d) rules can address those chemicals for which commitments are not met according to the June 27, 2005 policy.

D. New Requests to Add Chemicals to the TSCA Section 8(a) PAIR and Section 8(d) HaSDR Rules

In this report, the ITC is requesting that EPA add the 5 HPV orphan chemicals discussed in section IV.A.1. to the TSCA section 8(a) PAIR and section 8(d) HaSDR rules. The ITC requests that tungsten oxides, W₁₀ O₂₉ (CAS No. 12037-58-0) and W₁₈ O₄₉ (CAS No. 12037-57-9), be added to a different TSCA section 8(a) PAIR rule than the HPV orphan chemicals.

III. ITC's Activities During this Reporting Period (December 2004 to August 2005)

A. Status of HPV Challenge Program Orphan Chemicals

During this reporting period, the ITC Director met with EPA to discuss the EPA Policy Regarding Acceptance of New Commitments to Sponsor Chemicals under the HPV Challenge Program ( http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/hpvpolcy.htm ). Under this Policy, EPA will accept new commitments for the 243 HPV orphan chemicals listed in Appendix A. Appendix A includes the 5 HPV orphan chemicals discussed in section IV.A.1., but not the 2 HPV orphan chemicals transferred to the ICCA HPV Initiative, the 8 HPV orphan chemicals in Tables 2 and 3, and the 28 HPV orphan chemicals discussed in section IV.B.1. EPA will accept new commitments from the date the ITC submitted its 55^th ITC Report to the EPA Administrator (i.e., December 8, 2004) until 14 days following publication of the TSCA section 8(a) PAIR and 8(d) HaSDR rules for the 243 HPV orphan chemicals listed in Appendix A. HPV orphan chemicals for which new commitments are accepted based on EPA's policy will either not be included in or will be removed from the 8(a) PAIR and 8(d) HaSDR rules prior to their effective dates.

In contrast to Appendix A, the Priority Testing List from the 55^th ITC Report includes the 8 HPV orphan chemicals in Tables 2 and 3, but not the 2 HPV orphan chemicals transferred to the ICCA HPV Initiative and the 28 HPV orphan chemicals discussed in section IV.B.1. for a total of 246 HPV orphan chemicals. With the addition of the 5 HPV orphan chemicals discussed in section IV.A.1., there are a total of 251 HPV orphan chemicals on the Priority Testing List.

B. Data-Availability Study for HPV Chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, But Not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs

To facilitate the efforts of EPA, other Federal and State agencies, interested stakeholders and members of the public in obtaining basic health effects and environmental data on HPV chemicals, the ITC conducted a data-availability study in December 2004. The study focused on 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs. The HPV status of these chemicals was confirmed on May 25, 2005. Since the ITC conducted its study, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA) announced its Extended HPV (EHPV) Program on March 15, 2005. The goal of the EHPV Program is to collect and publish health and environmental information on approximately 500 chemicals that did not qualify as HPV chemicals under the EPA's original HPV Challenge program but have since reached the 1 million pound per year threshold according to the 2002 IUR.

The ITC is making the results of the study available in this 56^th ITC Report to provide the ACC, SDA, SOCMA, and others involved in the industry-led EHPV Program with information that will assist these organizations in determining if there are existing unpublished studies that can provide the basic health and environmental effects data on these HPV chemicals.To complement the data-availability study of 235 HPV chemicals included in both the 1998 and 2002 IURs, the ITC conducted a data-availability study in August 2005 of about 284 additional chemicals that were HPV chemicals only in the 2002 IUR but not in the 1990, 1994 or 1998 IURs. None of these 284 chemicals were included in the data-availability study of 235 HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs. The ITC will make the results of this study public in its 57^th ITC Report to the EPA Administrator. In addition, the ITC has initiated data-availability studies on categories of non-HPV chemicals and will make the results of these studies public in future reports to the EPA Administrator. At this time, the ITC has not determined whether to conduct a data-availability study on approximately 237 chemicals that were HPV chemicals only in the 1998 IUR, but not in the 1990, 1994 or 2002 IURs, because the ITC wants to review the 2006 IUR data for these chemicals. The goal of the ITC's data-availability studies is to provide tools for ACC, SDA, SOCMA, and other stakeholders to use in efforts to provide information on publicly available studies for IUR chemicals.

The data-availability study of the 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs was based on the methods that EPA used for assessing the availability of data for the 1990 HPV Challenge Program List of Chemicals (see http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/hazchem.pdf ), but was expanded to include studies sponsored by the NTP ( http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/ ). The methods that EPA used for the 1990 HPV chemicals were designed to determine if there were available studies for 6 endpoints that were required for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) dossiers. These 6 endpoints included 4 health-effects related endpoints (acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, mutagenicity, reproductive effects/developmental toxicity), an ecological effects endpoint and an environmental fate endpoint. Expanding the EPA methods to include NTP studies provided opportunities to capture studies on other health-effects related endpoints (e.g., neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity) and on the 4 health-effects related endpoints that might not be included in information sources that were searched. The results of the data-availability study of the 235 substances that were HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs are summarized in Table 4 of this section.

The 235 HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs, but not in the 1990 or 1994 IURs are listed in Appendix B. A table identifying the publicly available studies for the 235 HPV chemicals in the 1998 and 2002 IURs is posted on the ITC's web site ( http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc ).

C. Status of Requests for Data on Vanadium Compounds in Surface Impoundments

As discussed in the 55^th ITC Report, the ITC is concerned that vanadium compounds may be released into fly ash ponds and related impoundments and could be toxic to avian and wildlife species as exemplified by a recent report of dead Canada geese at a petroleum refinery fly ash pond in Delaware. During this reporting period, the ITC contacted the ACC, American Petroleum Institute (API), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Alabama Power Company, Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Kerr-McGee Chemical, Newmont Mining Corporation and U.S. Vanadium Corporation to determine if these organizations could provide data on concentrations and species of vanadium compounds in surface impoundments (fluid-filled depressions). The API reported that one of their members found less than 1 part per billion (ppb) vanadium in their waste ponds. EPRI suggested that higher concentrations of vanadium compounds are likely to be found in fly-ash ponds at coal-fired power plants than at other electricity-generating facilities, but that concentrations in ponds would likely range from 10 to 100 ppb vanadium. From the companies listed above, none reported vanadium concentrations as high as the 478,000 ppb vanadium in the Delaware petroleum refinery fly ash pond.

IV. Revisions to the TSCA Section 4(e) Priority Testing List

A. Chemicals Added to the Priority Testing List

1. HPV orphan chemicals. Naphtha (petroleum), clay-treated light straight-run (CAS No. 68527-22-0) is being added to the Priority Testing List because it was inadvertently left off the original list of HPV orphan chemicals that were HPV chemicals in either the 1998 or 2002 IURs (Table 5 of this section). EPA has confirmed that this chemical was produced at HPV volumes in 2002. Four additional HPV orphan chemicals are being added because previous sponsors withdrew their sponsorship commitments (Table 5 of this section).

2. Tungsten compounds.In its 53^rd ITC Report, the ITC added 20 tungsten compounds to the Priority Testing List to obtain importation, production, use, exposure, and health effects information to meet U.S. Government data needs (Ref. 3). In this 56^th ITC Report, the ITC is adding tungsten oxide (W₁₈ O₄₉) (CAS No. 12037-57-9) and tungsten oxide (W₁₀ O₂₉) (CAS No. 12037-58-0) to the Priority Testing List and is soliciting information on health effects and occupational exposures.

B. Chemicals Removed from the Priority Testing List

1. HPV orphan chemicals. The ITC is removing ethanol, 2-methoxy- (CAS No. 109-86-4) and tetradecane (CAS No. 629-59-4) from the December 8, 2004 Priority Testing List because sponsorship of these two substances was transferred to the ICCA HPV Initiative. The ITC is removing 11 HPV orphan chemicals from the December 8, 2004 Priority Testing List that were sponsored before the 55^th ITC Report was sent to the EPA Administrator on December 8, 2004 (Table 6 of this section).

The ITC is also removing 17 HPV orphan chemicals from the December 8, 2004 Priority Testing List that no longer meet the HPV criterion (Table 7 of this section).

2. Pyridinamine compounds. In its 53^rd ITC Report, the ITC added 3 pyridinamine compounds to the Priority Testing List to obtain importation, production, use, exposure, and health effects information to meet U.S. Government data needs (Ref. 3). Since then, the ITC has reviewed reports submitted in response to the December 7, 2004 PAIR rule (Ref. 4). In this 56^th ITC Report, the ITC is removing 2-pyridinamine (CAS No. 504-29-0), 3-pyridinamine (CAS No. 462-08-8) and 4-pyridinamine (CAS No. 504-24-5) from the Priority Testing List because information submitted in response to the PAIR rule suggested low potential for occupational exposure.

3. Indium compounds. In its 47^th ITC Report, the ITC added 37 indium compounds to the Priority Testing List to obtain importation, production, use, exposure, and health effects information to meet U.S. Government data needs (Ref. 5). Twenty-eight indium compounds were removed from the Priority Testing List because no production or importation data were submitted to EPA in response to the July 26, 2001, PAIR rule (Ref. 6). These 28 indium compounds are listed in the 51^st ITC Report (Ref. 7). The remaining 9 indium compounds were added to the May 4, 2004 TSCA section 8(d) HaSDR rule (Ref. 8). In this 56^th ITC Report, the ITC is removing 6 indium compounds from the Priority Testing List because information submitted in response to the PAIR rule suggested low potential for occupational exposure and because only one study was submitted in response to the HaSDR rule (Table 8 of this section).

The 3 indium compounds remaining on the Priority Testing List are listed in Table 9 of this section.

For these 3 indium compounds, the ITC needs data on: 1) concentrations to which workers may be exposed during manufacturing and downstream uses and 2) numbers of workers associated with manufacturing and downstream uses. The ITC needs this information to assess occupational exposures.

4. Vanadium compounds. In its 51^st ITC Report, the ITC added 43 vanadium compounds to the Priority Testing List to obtain importation, production, use, exposure, and health effects information to meet U.S. Government data needs (Ref. 7). At the ITC's request, the EPA added the 43 vanadium compounds to the June 11, 2003 PAIR rule (Ref. 9). In its 54^th ITC Report, the ITC removed 25 vanadium compounds from the Priority Testing List because information submitted in response to the PAIR rule suggested low potential for occupational exposure (Ref. 10).

At this time, the ITC needs data on water and sediment concentrations of vanadium species in fly ash ponds and related impoundments (fluid-filled depressions) and the pH of these ponds and impoundments. In addition, the ITC needs information on any wildlife mortality events occurring near these impoundments. A recent study that described the toxicity and hazard of vanadium to mallard ducks and Canada geese was conducted because of wildlife mortalities that occurred in a Delaware oil refinery fly ash pond contaminated with vanadium compounds (Ref. 11).

In this 56^th ITC Report, the ITC is removing 6 vanadium compounds from the Priority Testing List (Table 10 of this section).

The ITC is removing vanadium oxide (VO) (CAS No. 12035-98-2), vanadium oxide (VO2) (CAS No. 12036-24-1), vanadium nitride (VN) (CAS No. 24646-85-3) and vanadium, oxo[sulfato(2-)-.kappa.O]- (Vanadyl sulfate) (CAS No. 27774-13-6) from the Priority Testing List because information submitted in response to the PAIR rule suggested low potential for occupational exposure. The ITC is removing vanadium carbide (CAS No. 11130-21-5) and vanadium hydroxide oxide phosphate (CAS No. 65232-89-5) from the Priority Testing List because neither is likely to be a contaminant in fly ash ponds and related impoundments.

Table 11 of this section lists the 12 vanadium compounds remaining on the Priority Testing List.

V. References

1. EPA. 1998. Revisions to Reporting Regulations Under TSCA Section 8(d). Federal Register (63 FR 15765, April 1, 1998) (FRL-5750-4). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

2. ITC. 2005. Fifty-Fifth Report of the ITC. Federal Register (70 FR 7364, February 11, 2005) (FRL-7692-1). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

3. ITC. 2004. Fifty-Third Report of the ITC. Federal Register (69 FR 2467, January 15, 2004) (FRL-7335-2). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

4. EPA. 2004. Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting; Addition of Certain Chemicals. Federal Register (69 FR 70552, December 7, 2004) (FRL-7366-8). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

5. ITC. 2001. Forty-Seventh Report of the ITC. Federal Register (66 FR 17768, April 4, 2001) (FRL-6763-6). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

6. EPA. 2001. Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting; Addition of Certain Chemicals. Federal Register (66 FR 38955, July 26, 2001) (FRL-6783-6). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

7. ITC. 2002. Fifty-First Report of the ITC. Federal Register (68 FR 8976, February 26, 2003) (FRL-7285-7). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

8. EPA. 2004. Health and Safety Data Reporting; Addition of Certain Chemicals. Federal Register (69 FR 24517, May 4, 2004) (FRL-7322-8). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

9. EPA. 2003. Preliminary Assessment Information Reporting; Addition of Certain Chemicals. Federal Register (68 FR 34832, June 11, 2003) (FRL-7306-7). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

10. ITC. 2004. Fifty-Fourth Report of the ITC. Federal Register (69 FR 33527, June 15, 2004) (FRL-7359-6). Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ .

11. Rattner, B.A., M.A. McKernan, K.M. Eisenreich, W.A. Link, G. Olsen, D.J. Hoffman, K.A. Knowles, and P.C. McGowan. 2005. Toxicity and hazard of vanadium to mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis). Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health (In Press)

VI. The TSCA Interagency Testing Committee

Statutory Organizations and Their Representatives

Council on Environmental Quality

  Vacant

Department of Commerce

  National Institute of Standards and Technology

  Dianne Poster, Member

  Peter Barker, Alternate

  National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

  Tony Pait, Member

  Thomas P. O'Connor, Alternate

Environmental Protection Agency

  Gerry Brown, Member

  Paul Campanella, Alternate

National Cancer Institute

  Alan Poland, Member

  Shen Yang, Alternate

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

  Scott Masten, Alternate

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

  Dennis W. Lynch, Member

  Mark Toraason, Alternate

National Science Foundation

  Marge Cavanaugh, Member, Chair

  Parag R. Chitnis, Alternate

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

  Maureen Ruskin, Member, Vice Chair

Liaison Organizations and Their Representatives

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

  Daphne Moffett, Member

Consumer Product Safety Commission

  Jacqueline Ferrante, Member

Department of Agriculture

  Clifford P. Rice, Member

  Laura L. McConnell, Alternate

Department of Defense

  Brent Gibson, Member

  Erin Wilfong, Alternate

Department of the Interior

  Barnett A. Rattner, Member

Food and Drug Administration

  Kirk Arvidson, Alternate

  Ronald F. Chanderbhan, Alternate

National Library of Medicine

  Vera W. Hudson, Member

National Toxicology Program

  NIEHS, FDA, and NIOSH, Members

Technical Support Contractor

  Syracuse Research Corporation

ITC Staff

  John D. Walker, Director

  Carol Savage, Administrative Assistant

TSCA Interagency Testing Committee (7401), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; e-mail address: savage.carol@epa.gov; url: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc/ .

Appendices