Mercury Study Report to Congress

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5141-5]

Mercury Study Report to Congress

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 3640]] ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting.

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SUMMARY: A peer-review workshop will be held by the Environmental

Criteria and Assessment Office (ECAO) of EPA's Office of Health and

Environmental Assessment to review a draft of EPA's Mercury Study

Report to Congress (hereafter ``Draft Report''). This Draft Report is

being prepared by EPA in response to Section 112(n)(1)(B) of the Clean

Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1990, which requires EPA to submit to

Congress a study on mercury emissions.

The Draft Report focuses on sources of mercury emissions to include

electric utility steam generating units, municipal waste combustion

units, and other sources, including area sources. Congress directed

that the report evaluate many aspects of mercury emissions, including

the rate and mass of emissions, health and environmental effects,

technologies to control such emissions, and the costs of such controls.

DATES: The workshop will be held on January 25 and 26, 1995, at the

Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC), 26 W.

Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio. The workshop will begin at

8:30 a.m. both days.

ADDRESSES: Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), an EPA contractor is

providing logistical support for the peer review workshop. Members of

the public wishing to attend the workshop as observers should register

by phoning ERG at 617-674-7374. Please note that space is limited and

registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Time will be allowed for public comment on both days of the

workshop. Members of the public wishing to present formal comments at

the workshop should indicate so when registering. Time will be limited

in order to give everyone an equal opportunity to speak.

Copies of the Draft Report will be available at the workshop.

Additional copies also will be available after the workshop. To obtain

a copy of this Draft Report, interested parties should contact the ORD

Publications Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin

Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone (513) 569-7562;

fax (513) 569-7566. Please provide your name, mailing address, the

document title (Mercury Study Report to Congress), and the document

numbers (EPA/600/P-94/002Aa and Ab).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Rita Schoeny, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment,

Environmental Criteria and Assesment Office, 26 W. Martin Luther King

Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268; telephone (513) 569-7544.

Martha Keating, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air

Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

27711; telephone (919)-541-5340.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to a mandate from Congress, EPA

has prepared a seven-volume Mercury Study Report to Congress. The seven

volumes are as follows:

1. Executive Summary

2. Inventory of Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the United States

3. An Assessment of Exposure from Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in

the United States

4. Health Effects of Mercury and Mercury Compounds

5. An Ecological Assessment for Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the

United States

6. Characterization of Human Health and Wildlife Risks from

Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the United States

7. An Evaluation of Mercury Control Technologies, Costs, and Regulatory

Issues

A peer-review workshop is being held as part of the process of

scientific review of the Draft Report. The Draft Report, authored

primarily by EPA scientists with input from outside scientific experts,

is developmental and does not represent Agency policy. The Draft Report

is being made available to the public as part of the Agency's

continuing commitment to conduct assessments of important environmental

contaminants in an open and participatory manner, to keep the public

informed, and to encourage public review of significant assessments.

The public is invited to attend the workshop. Seating will be limited,

and advance registration is suggested. Information about attending the

meetings and obtaining a copy of the Draft Report is provided elsewhere

in this notice. After the workshop, the Draft Report will be revised

and subjected to final Agency review before submission to the Office of

Management and Budget and ultimately to Congress.

Dated: January 11, 1995.

Joseph K. Alexander,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development.

[FR Doc. 95-1249 Filed 1-17-95; 8:45 am]

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