Research Needed To Improve Health and Ecological Risk Assessment for Ozone

This notice announces the availability of the Second External Review Draft of a document, Research Needed to Improve Health and Ecological Risk Assessment for Ozone, EPA/600/R-98/031B, prepared by the Office of Research and Development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of this document is to identify the scientific areas in which research is most needed to improve health and ecological risk assessment in the process of setting National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone. Many of the research needs identified and discussed in this document became apparent during preparation of the Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants, EPA/600/P-93/004aF,bF,cF, July 1996. The First External Review Draft of this research needs document was reviewed by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board, on November 16, 1998, in Chapel Hill, NC. This Second External Review Draft has been prepared in light of CASAC's comments at that time and will be reviewed by CASAC (likely in March 2002), with date and location of the CASAC public review meeting to be announced in a future Federal Register notice. This document is intended to serve as a general guide to planning and conducting needed research on ambient ozone. The document intentionally makes no attempt to recommend specific research studies or programs.