Petition To Delist Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether From the List of Hazardous Air Pollutants

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6411-6; Docket No. A-99-24]

Petition To Delist Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether From the List of

Hazardous Air Pollutants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a complete petition.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the receipt of a complete petition

from the Chemical Manufacturers Association's (CMA's) Ethylene Glycol

Ethers Panel requesting EPA to remove the chemical ethylene glycol

butyl ether (EGBE) (CAS No. 111-76-2) from the list of hazardous air

pollutants (HAPs) contained in section 112(b)(1) of the 1990 Clean Air

Act (Act). We have determined that the CMA's original petition dated

August 29, 1997 and the supplemental materials provided by CMA through

December 21, 1998 will support an assessment of the human health

impacts associated with people living in the vicinity of facilities

emitting EGBE. In addition, the data submitted by CMA will support an

assessment of the environmental impacts associated with emissions of

EGBE to the ambient air and deposited onto soil or water. Consequently,

we have concluded that CMA's petition is complete as of December 21,

1998, the date of the last supplement, and is ready for public comment

and the technical review phase of our delisting evaluation process.

[[Page 42126]]

This document invites the public to comment on the petition and to

provide additional data, beyond that filed in the petition, on sources,

emissions, exposure, health effects and environmental impacts

associated with EGBE that may be relevant to our technical review.

DATES: Comments and additional data will be accepted if received on or

before September 2, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Documents. A copy of the complete petition is contained in a

docket available at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information

Office, 401 M Street SW, Room M-1500 (6102), Waterside Mall, Washington

DC 20460. The docket number for this action is A-99-24. The docket is

an organized file of all the information received and considered in

making the decision on the completeness of CMA's petition. The main

purpose of the docket is to allow you to readily identify and locate

documents that record the process we followed in making our decision.

You may inspect the petition and copy it for offsite review between

8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. In addition, CMA

will make copies of the petition available upon request. To request a

copy from CMA, you may call Dr. Susan A. Lewis at (202) 879-5042 during

normal business hours. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

Comments and Data Submissions. Comments and additional data should

be submitted (in duplicate if possible) to: The Docket Clerk, Air and

Radiation Docket and Information Office, 401 M Street SW, Room M-1500

(Mail Code 6102), Waterside Mall, Washington DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Palma, Emission Standards Division

(MD-13), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711,

telephone (919) 541-5470, electronic mail address:

[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

A. What Is the List of Hazardous Air Pollutants?

Hazardous air pollutants include a wide variety of organic and

inorganic substances released from large and small industrial

operations, fossil fuel combustion, gasoline and diesel-powered

vehicles, and many other sources. The HAPs have been associated with a

wide variety of adverse health effects, including cancer, neurological

effects, reproductive effects, and developmental effects. The health

effects associated with the various HAPs may differ depending upon the

toxicity of the individual HAP and the particular circumstances of

exposure, such as the amount of chemical present, the length of time a

person is exposed, and the stage in life of the person when the

exposure occurs. The list of HAPs, which includes the pollutant

category ``glycol ethers,'' of which EGBE is a member of this category,

can be found in section 112(b)(1) of the Act. The HAPs list provides

the basis for research, regulation, and other related EPA activities

under section 112 of the Act.

B. What Is a HAP Delist Petition?

A HAP delist petition is a formal request to the EPA from an

individual or group to remove a specific HAP from the HAPs list. The

removal of a HAP from the list eliminates it from consideration in

EPA's program to promulgate national, technology-based emissions

control standards. This technology-based standards program is commonly

referred to as the maximum achievable control technology (MACT)

program.

Petitions to add or delete chemicals from the HAPs list are allowed

under section 112(b)(3)(A) of the Act. The Act specifies that any

person may petition the Administrator to modify, by addition or

deletion, the list of HAPs, and the EPA Administrator is required to

either grant or deny a petition to delist a specific HAP within 18

months of the receipt of a complete petition.

To delete a substance from the HAPs list, section 112(b)(3)(C)

requires that the petitioner must provide adequate data on the health

and environmental effects of the substance to determine that emissions,

ambient concentrations, and bio-accumulation or deposition of the

substance may not reasonably be anticipated to cause any adverse

effects to human health or adverse environmental effects.

C. How Does EPA Review a Petition To Delist a HAP?

The petition review process proceeds in two phases: a completeness

determination and a technical review. During the completeness

determination, we conduct a broad review of the petition to determine

whether or not all the necessary subject areas are addressed and

whether reasonable information and analyses are presented for each of

these subject areas. Once the petition is determined to be complete, we

place a notice of receipt of a complete petition in the Federal

Register. That Federal Register notice announces a public comment

period on the petition and starts the technical review phase of our

decision-making process. The technical review involves a more thorough

scientific review of the petition to determine whether the data,

analyses, interpretations, and conclusions in the petition are

appropriate and technically sound. The technical review will also

determine whether or not the petition satisfies the necessary

requirements of section 112(b)(3)(C) and adequately supports a decision

to delist the HAP. All comments and data submitted during the public

comment period are considered during the technical review.

D. How Is the Decision To Delist a HAP Made?

The decision to either grant or deny a petition is made after a

comprehensive technical review of both the petition and the information

received from the public to determine whether the petition satisfies

the requirements of section 112(b)(3)(C) of the Act. If the

Administrator decides to grant a petition, a notice of proposed

rulemaking is published in the Federal Register. That notice proposes a

modification of the HAPs list and presents the reasoning for doing so.

However, if the Administrator decides to deny a petition, a notice

setting forth an explanation of the reasons for denial will be

published instead. A notice of denial constitutes final Agency action

of nationwide scope and applicability and is subject to judicial review

as provided in section 307(b) of the Act.

II. Completeness Determination and Request for Public Comment

On August 29, 1997, we received a petition from the CMA's Ethylene

Glycol Ethers Panel to remove EGBE (CAS No. 111-76-2) from the HAPs

list. After our initial review of the petition, we determined that

additional information was needed to determine ecological risks as well

as on the derivation of the safe human exposure level for EGBE. The

petitioner submitted several additional documents in September and

December of 1998 to address the information gaps. After reviewing all

of the supplemental information, we have now determined that the

essential subject areas have been addressed and that the petition is

complete and ready for technical review. The CMA's last supplement

which occurred December 21, 1998 marked the start of the 18-months

decision period. Today's document initiates our comprehensive technical

review of the petition and invites public

[[Page 42127]]

comment on the substance of the petition as described above.

III. Description of the Petition

The complete petition provided by CMA contains the following

information:

A. Background information on EGBE, including chemical and physical

properties data, synonyms, atmospheric residence time, solubility,

information on atmospheric transformations as well as production and

usage information.

B. A hazard identification and dose-response assessment to

determine whether exposure to EGBE is capable of causing adverse health

effects in humans. Further, CMA provided supplemental materials

addressing the results of the National Toxicology Program mouse and rat

cancer bioassays of EGBE.

C. An inventory of the releases of EGBE to the atmosphere. The

inventory was developed by examining Federal, State, and local data

sources. In addition, the inventory development included direct contact

with industrial and trade associations and review of other chemical

databases.

D. ``Tiered'' air dispersion modeling that provides estimates of

the ambient concentration of EGBE for comparison with inhalation health

criteria. Tiered modeling involves the use of successive modeling

techniques to move from conservative ``worst case'' estimates of the

ambient concentrations of a substance emitted from a source toward more

``realistic'' site-specific estimates of the ambient concentrations.

E. An evaluation of the ambient measured concentrations of EGBE and

estimates of typical urban ambient levels.

F. An evaluation of the environmental fate and transport of EGBE to

surface waters.

G. A risk characterization study presenting an assessment of

potential air inhalation exposures and surface water ingestion

exposures to humans. Further, the petition included an assessment of

the quality of the study data and uncertainty associated with the

analysis.

H. An ecological risk assessment to determine if adverse

environmental effects may occur as a result of predicted ambient air

quality levels and deposition to soil and water resulting from air

releases of EGBE.

The petition describes EGBE as the largest volume glycol ether used

in the U.S. It estimates that the 1995 total U.S. consumption of EGBE

was between 285 and 310 million pounds. The vast majority of EGBE is

produced at five plants located in Michigan, Texas, and Louisiana.

Approximately 90 percent of the EGBE consumed in the U.S. was used as a

solvent in paints, coatings, industrial and household cleaners,

adhesives, and inks. The remaining 10 percent was used as a chemical

intermediate. As described in the petition, releases of EGBE to the

environment are primarily to the atmosphere.

In support of the delisting effort, the petitioner conducted a

comprehensive emission inventory examining potential air emissions

sources of EGBE as well as glycol ethers. Evaluating a cross-section of

the industry, the petition collected data and conducted its ``tiered-

type'' air quality assessment on over 3,400 facilities with inventoried

air emissions of EGBE.

The hazard identification and dose-response assessment in the

petition presents a summary of recent health criteria studies performed

by a steering group comprised of CMA and EPA scientists. The petition

suggests that an inhalation reference concentration and ingestion

reference dose ranging from 3 to 73 milligrams per cubic meter and 3 to

23 milligrams per kilogram per day, respectively, are appropriate

health criteria for the risk and exposure assessment.

The risk assessment compares model predicted air quality data with

proposed health criteria information to conclude that air releases of

EGBE are not anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health. An

ecological risk assessment, to determine adverse environmental effects

to nonhuman receptors, further concludes that air releases of EGBE are

not likely to cause nor contribute to adverse environmental effects.

Dated: July 26, 1999.

Robert Brenner,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 99-19905 Filed 8-2-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P