Advisory Committee On Toxic Substances

Exposure limits are set by the Health and Safety Commission, on the advice of its Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances (ACTS) and Woridng Group on the Assessment of Toxic Chemicals (WATCH). ACTS has begun publishing the full rationale for establishing exposure limits as Criteria Documents . The format of these documents is modelled on that adopted by the EC [17]. 

United Kingdom Department of Work and Pensions Health and Safety Commission/Health and Safety Executive Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances (ACTS) Health and Safety Executive... 

United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive HSC Advisory Committee on Toxic substances HSE/HSC/ACTS ht //www.J 0e.gov.uk/aboatus/haG/iacs/ l5... 

When applied, the limits should not be used as an index of relative hazard and toxicity, nor should they be used as the dividing line between safe and dangerous concentrations. The list is not comprehensive and the absence of a substance does not indicate that it is safe. The WEL values are set on the recommendations of the HSC s Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances. This follows a scientific assessment by another committee, the Working Group on the Assessment of Toxic Chemicals (WATCH). These committees decide whether to assign a limit to a particular substance and the concentration to be adopted. 

In the area of food additives, health protection of the consumer is provided by the positive list system, on which the Council Directives on various food additives are based. Another aspect of health protection to be discussed is exemplified by the inclusion of strict specifications for individual substances listed. These specifications limit the concentrations of certain unavoidable but toxic contaminants in the additive. Health considerations are involved more indirectly in the deliberations of the Scientific Committees acting as advisory bodies to the Commission. Here, discussion will cover the efforts to generate generally acceptable guidelines for the toxicological testing of chemicals and to establish acceptable daily intakes for food additives and contaminants. 

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