EPA Pesticide Program Update from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs 11/05/01 http://www.epa.gov/pesticides **************************************************** IN THIS UPDATE: TECHNICAL BRIEFING SCHEDULED FOR EXPOSURE METHODS FOR CUMULATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDES EPA has scheduled a technical briefing for November 15, 2001, to discuss the exposure methods proposed for use in the organophosphate cumulative risk assessment for dietary (food and drinking water) and residential exposures. The briefing will provide information in non-technical terms to help increase public understanding of this topic. It also will cover how the Calendex tm model calculates and combines these exposure estimates. [Calendex permits a time-based integration of both residential and dietary (food and water) exposures to pesticides. This is performed probabilistically such that aggregation (or combining) of residues across multiple routes and cumulation of residues across multiple chemicals is accounted for in an appropriate and realistic manner.] While this briefing will complete the series of background briefings EPA has been holding on the cumulative risk assessment methods, EPA plans to hold a briefing on the preliminary cumulative risk assessment on January 15, 2002. The November 15 briefing will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Old Town Holiday Inn Select, 480 King St., Alexandria, VA (703-549-6080). On November 16, EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a public meeting of the CARAT (Committee to Advise on Reassessment and Transition) Workgroup on Cumulative Risk Assessment/Public Participation Process from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at EPA's office at 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Room 1110, Arlington, VA. The Federal Register notice announcing these meetings is available on EPA's web site: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPAFR-CONTENTS/2001/October/ Day-31/contents.htm. For additional information on the cumulative risk assessment process for the organophosphate pesticides, please see www.epa.gov/pesticides/cumulative . For information about the CARAT, see www.epa.gov/pesticides/carat . *********************************************************** EPA distributes its Pesticide Program Updates to external stakeholders and citizens who have expressed an interest in OPP activities and decisions. For general questions on pesticides and pesticide poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network (NPTN), toll-free, at: 1-800-858-7378, by E-mail at nptn@ace.orst.edu, or by visiting their website at: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/ For information about ongoing activities in the Office of Pesticide Programs, visit our homepage at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides Or call or write us directly at: Communication Services Branch Office of Pesticide Programs (7506C) US Environmental Protection Agency Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-2403 703-305-5017