EU Commission Releases Roadmap on Substances of Very High Concern
EU REACH Substances of Very High Concern: Last week, the EU Commission released its Roadmap on Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC). The Roadmap outlines a process for identifying and assessing potential SVHCs within the following categories: substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMRs); substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative or toxic for […]
DTSC Requests Public Comment on Another Draft of the Green Chemistry Regulations
California Green Chemistry Regulations: The saga of California’s nascent Green Chemistry program continues. Last week, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released the revised text (PDF) of its proposed Safer Consumer Product Regulations. The comment period for the revisions started on January 29 and closes on February 28, 2013. Notably, the revised rules significantly […]
IRIS Remains Under Fire
Risk Assessment/IRIS: EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (“IRIS”), which assesses the human health risks associated with chemical exposure, has come under fire from the head of the scientific panel charged by Congress to review the program. In recent years, IRIS has been the subject of much criticism, causing Congress to direct a panel of the […]
EPA Releases First Set of Draft Risk Assessments Under Existing Chemicals Work Plan Effort
On January 4, EPA released for public comment draft risk assessments, for particular uses, on five chemicals found in common household products. The draft risk assessments were developed as part of the agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified common chemicals for review over the coming years to assess any impacts on people’s health […]
EPA Publishes the Peer Review Plans for the Risk Assessments on the Seven 2012 Work Plan Chemicals
TSCA: Today, August 17, 2012, EPA published the Peer Review Plans for the risk assessments on the seven 2012 work plan chemicals. The plans, which form part of the Agency’s Peer Review Agenda, describe the focus of the risk assessment being conducted on each chemical, indicate how peer reviewers will be selected and how the […]
New TSCA Work Plan Chemicals
TSCA/Work Plan for Existing Chemicals/Chemical Risk Assessment June 1, 2012 EPA announced the addition of 18 chemicals to its work plan for existing chemicals risk assessment. The 18 chemicals include flame retardants, fragrance chemicals, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Many of these chemicals are potentially carcinogenic, or pose reproductive or developmental toxicity. In addition, some of these […]
European Chemical Industry Debuts Chemical Combination Screening Tool – Concludes Regulating Individual Chemicals is Usually Adequate
Chemical Mixture Risk Assessment: May 31, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) unveiled a tool for assessing the risks posed by chemical combinations: the Maximum Cumulative Ratio (MCR) (see e.g., news release, combination effects tools). MCR compares the toxicity of individual chemicals to the cumulative toxicity of all chemicals in an exposure scenario. Cefic argues that […]
EPA Draft (IRIS) Ammonia Assessment Available for Public Comment
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS): Today, EPA released for a 60-day public comment period the draft IRIS assessment for ammonia. Excerpts from the agency’s press release are provided below, and a copy of the draft assessment is avaialble here. IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates information on health effects that may result […]
NRDC Recommends Improvements to Chemical Risk Assessment Methods
Chemical Risk Assessment: Readers following efforts to improve chemical management and control in the United States may be interested in a recent National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) White Paper, Strengthening Toxic Chemical Risk Assessments to Protect Human Health. In the White Paper, NRDC reaches several conclusions in reliance on National Academy of Sciences (NAS) findings […]