Peer-Review Workshop on Time-Dependent Models and Technical Guidance Document Developed for Benchmark Dose Analysis of Neurobehavioral Toxicity Screening Data

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces an expert peer-review workshop to review two time-dependent dose-response models and draft guidance for the application of these models to the assessment of data generated under EPA neurotoxicity screening test guidelines (63 FR 26926, May 14, 1998). Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), an EPA contractor, will organize, convene, and conduct the peer-review workshop. The workshop will focus on application of the new statistical and dose-response methods represented by these models to neurotoxicity data, but applications of these methods to other toxicological data will also be discussed. The Splus[reg] model programs and draft guidance document to be reviewed were developed for the EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) and National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL) by the University of South Florida. They are both available for download from the workshop's registration Web site, http://www.orau.gov/modelreview. Though the primary purpose of the workshop is to receive comments and suggestions from the peer-review panel members, members of the public are invited to attend the workshop as observers and will be allowed to present brief verbal and/or written comments at the end of the workshop. NCEA and NHEERL will consider comments received at the workshop in preparing the software and a revised guidance document for later release to the public.