Chemicals priority list

Make suggestions for modification or expansion of the Chemical Priority List by providing lists of chemicals and supporting rationale for their priority to the designated federal officer (DEO). 

Diisopropyl methylphosphonate has been identified at 2 of the 1,416 hazardous waste sites that have been proposed for inclusion on the EPA National Priorities List (NPL) (HazDat 1997). One site, identified in Figure 5-1, is the RMA located near Denver, Colorado. As diisopropyl methylphosphonate was never made commercially, the EPA neither expects nor routinely looks for this chemical at hazardous waste sites unless site history indicates it might be present. 

EPA. 1991. Twenty-seventh report of the Interagency Testing Committee to the administrator receipt of report and request for comments regarding priority list of chemicals. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Federal Register 56(44) 9534. 

From the wide variety of emerging pollutants of industrial origin that could be considered here, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate esters (PE) are of especial relevance not only because of the high volumes produced and their widespread use, but also because of their demonstrated toxicity, particularly as endocrine disrupters. Both of them have been included in the final report of the European Commission toward the establishment of a priority list of endocrine disrupter chemicals, EDCs [3], and have been rated as of high risk of exposure for human and wildlife populations. Because of their structural characteristics these compounds cannot be included in any of the groups described above, so they will be described in this section (see Fig. 10). 

An overview is provided of ongoing risk assessments on halogenated phosphate ester flame retardants in Europe. On the basis of the so-called second and fourth Priority lists on Existing Chemicals (Council Regulation No793/93) three chlorinated phosphate ester flame retardants are selected. The selection is based on their hazard profile, volume and use pattern. The three substances involved are TCPP, TDCP and TCEP (Antiblaze V6 from Albemarle is also involved but, due to confidentiality, is not discussed. An outline is provided from a European point of view on topics such as methodology of risk analyses, data-gaps and worst case approach, industry involvement, downstream participation and possible impact of final report on industry. 2 refs. 

This article describes the strategy on endocrine-disrupting substances issued by the European Commission last December, and details why its short-term goal to compile a priority list of chemicals for research and testing has been attacked by industry, environmentalists and scientists alike. 

This statement was prepared to give you information about mirex and chlordecone and to emphasize the human health effects that may result from exposure to them. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,408 hazardous waste sites as the most serious in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal clean-up activities. Mirex has been found in at least 7 of the sites on the NPL. Chlordecone has been found at 2 of the sites on the NPL. However, neither mirex or chlordecone are on EPA s list of target chemicals and the number of NPL sites evaluated for mirex and chlordecone is not known. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites at which mirex and chlordecone are found may increase. This information is important because exposure to mirex and chlordecone may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are potential or actual sources of human exposure to mirex and chlordecone. 

ATSDR. 1989c. Health assessment for Revere Chemical Company National Priorities List (NPL) site, Revere Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA. 

Following considerations based on usage information, physico-chemical properties, and persistence, a priority list of herbicides was established for the Mediterranean countries, i.e., France, Italy, Greece, and Spain ([168, 182, 183] Table 6). This list considers selected herbicides which can cause contamination of estuarine and coastal environments. The selection of pollutants has been based on the availability of usage data and the consideration of half-lives [182,183]. 

Korte, F., Freitag, D., Geyer, H., Klein, W., Kraus, A.G., and Lahaniatis, E. Ecotoxicologic profile analysis - A concept for establishing ecotoxicologic priority lists for chemicals, Chemosphere, 7(1) 79-102, 1978. 

Diehlorobenzidine has been identified in at least 32 of the 1,467 current or former EPA National Priorities List (NPL) hazardous wastes sites (HazDat 1998). However, the number of sites evaluated for 3,3 -diehlorobenzidine is not known. The frequeney of these sites within the United States can be seen in Figure 5-1. The manufacture and use of 3,3 -dichlorobenzidine has been strictly regulated by OSHA since 1974. All work with the compound is done in elosed systems and any residues are destroyed by chemical reaction. Such precautions, if conscientiously praetieed, make it unlikely that significant quantities of 3,3 -diehlorobenzidine have been disposed of in landfills or at NPL sites after 1974. 

Abstract Phthalates are chemicals that have been used for over 80 years in large quantities due to their wide range of applications, mainly in the plastic industry. For many years, these compounds were not considered dangerous for humans due to their low toxicity shown in the preliminary studies and their low persistence. However, research conducted in recent years has evidenced their activity as endocrine disrupters, and they are now considered as emerging contaminants and included in the priority list of dangerous substances in the legislation of many countries. This chapter provides an overview on the properties, major uses, emission sources, environmental and human levels, current legislation, behavior and fate of phthalates, and their metabolites, with special emphasis on their toxicity and human exposure. 

At present the risk assessment of contaminated objects is mainly based on the chemical analyses of a priority list of toxic substances. This analytical approach does not allow for mixture toxicity, nor does it take into account the bioavailability of the pollutants present. In this respect, bioassays provide an alternative because they constitute a measure for environmentally relevant toxicity, that is, the effects of a bioavailable fraction of an interacting set of pollutants in a complex environmental matrix [9-12]. 

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 chemical compounds have been produced industrially [2,3] and many of them are harmful to human health and to the environment. However, only 7% of the largest-volume chemicals require toxicity screening [2]. In the United States, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintain a list, in order of priority, of substances that are determined to pose the most significant potential threat to human health due to their known or suspected toxicity. This Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Priority List of Hazardous Substances was first issued in 1999 and includes 275 substances (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/clist.html). 

The short-term actions include (1) establishment of a priority list of substances for further evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption monitoring levels of suspect chemicals in food and the environment (2) identification of vulnerable groups of people (such as children) who need to be given special consideration (3) establishment of an international network to enable information exchange and coordination of research and testing and (4) communication with the public and continuing consultation with stakeholders. 

If an EHC monograph is proposed for a chemical not on the priority list, the IPCS Secretariat consults with the cooperating organizations and all the Participating Institutions before embarking on the preparation of the monograph. 

With the joint capabilities of this network, the following sectors corresponding to the CCQM priority list of areas where traceability of chemical measurements is particularly important, can be addressed ... 

The foundation of the CWC s inspection activities was based around the declaration by member states of their chemical weapons capabilities and activities. Nations with chemical warfare programmes were required to declare their production, storage and destruction facilities, which would then receive top monitoring priority. Nevertheless, the CWC did allow states to maintain research programmes to ensure the integrity of defensive equipment such as gas masks and gas detectors, but these activities were also to be closely monitored since they involved work with the chemical agents listed on Schedule l.9 Otherwise, all other warfare agents, mustard gas, Lewisite, soman, sarin, tabun, VX and the capability to produce them were to be eliminated under the watchful eyes of international inspectors (Table 8.1).10 The convention thus defined chemical weapons as any toxic chemical, or its precursors, intended for purposes other than those not prohibited under this convention for... 

APPENDIX 31 INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS BASED ON THE PRIORITY LIST OF THE EPA, IRC, AND EEC... 

The substances evaluated for risk assessment were selected on the basis of potential concerns, areas of use, and volumes sold. Four priority lists were established.42 The risk assessments looked at the environmental and human health aspects of a chemical s use under a variety of scenarios. For each scenario, one of the following three conclusions was drawn 43... 

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