EHC monographs

A Task Group carries out the peer review. The Task Group members serve as individual scientists, not as representatives of any organization, government, or industry. Their function is to evaluate the accuracy, significance, and relevance of the information in the document and to assess the health and environmental risks from exposure to the chemical. The principles, procedures, and scientific criteria that guide the evaluations are described in the preamble to the EHC monographs. 

The EHC monographs provide critical reviews on the effect on human health and the environment of chemicals and of combinations of chemicals and physical and biological agents. As such, they include and review studies that are of direct relevance for the evaluation. However, they do not describe every study carried out. Worldwide data are used and are quoted from original studies, not from abstracts or reviews. Both published and unpublished reports are considered and it is incumbent on the authors to assess all the original articles cited in the references. Preference is... 

EHC monographs examine the physical and chemical properties and analytical methods sources of environmental and industrial exposure and environmental transport kinetics and meta-bohsm including absorption, distribution, transformation, and elimination short- and long-term effects on animals, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity and finally, an evaluation of risks for human health and the effects on the environment. 

The EHC monographs are published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and are available at the INCHEM Web site (INCHEM 2007a). 

Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monographs Health and Safety Guides (HSGs)... 

The assessment of the toxicity of drinking-water contaminants has been made on the basis of published reports from the open literamre, information submitted by governments and other interested parties, and unpublished proprietary data. In the development of the guideline values, existing international approaches to developing guidelines were carefully considered. Previous risk assessments developed by the WHO/IPCS in EHC monographs (see Section 3.6.1.1), lARC (see Section 3.6.1.2), JMPR (see Section 3.6.1.3), and JECFA (see Section 3.6.1.3) were reviewed. These assessments were relied upon except where new information justified a reassessment. The quality of new data was critically evaluated prior to their use in risk assessment. 

Safety (IPCS), a cooperative programme of UNEP, ILO and WHO. In this manner, with the strong support of the new partners, the importance of occupational health and environmental effects was fully recognized. The EHC monographs have become widely established, used and recognized throughout the world. 

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. 

The order of procedures that result in the publication of an EHC monograph is shown in the flow chart on the next page. A designated staff member of IPCS, responsible for the scientific quality of the document, serves as Responsible Officer (RO). The IPCS Editor is responsible for layout and language. The first draft, prepared by consultants or, more usually, staff from an IPCS Participating Institution, is based initially on data provided from the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals and from reference databases such as Medline and Toxline. 

All individuals who as authors, consultants or advisers participate in the preparation of the EHC monograph must, in addition to serving in their personal capacity as scientists, inform the RO if at any time a conflict of interest, whether actual or potential, could be perceived in their work. They are required to sign a conflict of interest statement. Such a procedure ensures the transparency and probity of the process. 

It is accepted that the following criteria should initiate the updating of an EHC monograph new data are available that would substantially change the evaluation there is public concern for health or environmental effects of the agent because of greater exposure an appreciable time period has elapsed since the last evaluation. 

All Participating Institutions are informed, through the EHC progress report, of the authors and institutions proposed for the drafting of the documents. A comprehensive file of all comments received on drafts of each EHC monograph is maintained and is available on... 

In IPCSINCHEM, Selected Nitro- and Nitro-Oxy-Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) Monographs, vol 229 (WHO, Geneva, 2003). 

The EHC monographs are intended to assist national and international authorities in making risk assessments and subsequent risk... 

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 2006. Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) monographs. Chemical safety information from intergovernmental organizations. Nairobi, Kenya, http //www.inchem.org/pages/ehc.html. 

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