Consensus
Many people in the United States are exposed to formaldehyde. Exposure can occur from environmental sources (for example, combustion processes, building materials, and tobacco smoke) or in occupational settings (for example, the furniture, textile, and construction industries). Formaldehyde exposure also has endogenous sources—it is produced intracellularly as a component of the one carbon pool intermediary metabolism pathway. Scientists have studied formaldehyde for decades to determine whether exogenous formaldehyde exposure may be associated with cancer in humans. In 1981, The National Toxicology Program (NTP) first listed formaldehyde in the 2nd Report on Carcinogens as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen". In 2011, NTP upgraded the listing of formaldehyde to "known to be a human carcinogen". Following the new listing, Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services to arrange for the National Academy of Sciences to independently review formaldehyde's substance profile and listing. This report presents the findings and conclusions of the committee formed in response to the congressional request.
Review of the Formaldehyde Assessment in the National Toxicology Program 12th Report on Carcinogens concurs with NTP that there is sufficient evidence in studies that had adequate characterization of relevant exposure metrics to enable a strong conclusion about the association between formaldehyde exposure and cancer in humans. Additionally, the authoring committee independently reviewed the scientific evidence from studies in humans, experimental animals, and other studies relevant to the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and made level-of-evidence conclusions. This report finds clear and convincing epidemiologic evidence of an association between formaldehyde exposure and nasopharyngeal and sinonasal cancers in humans.
246 pages
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paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-31227-2
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-31228-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18948
National Research Council. 2014. Review of the Formaldehyde Assessment in the National Toxicology Program 12th Report on Carcinogens. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) applies scientific results that have been provided by various parts of its own organization and by external organizations. The agency requires substantial high-quality inhouse scientific expertise and laboratory capabilities so that it can answer questions related to regulation, enforcement, and environmental effects of specific chemicals, activities, and processes. It is also usually faced with situations in which research or analytic work is time-critical, so it maintains dedicated laboratory staff and facilities that can respond quickly to such needs. In recent years, EPA has made several changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its laboratories, such as the designation of national program directors to align the work of research laboratories with the needs of the agency's regulatory program offices. The agency is currently undertaking an integrated evaluation of it laboratories to enhance the management effectiveness and efficiency of its laboratory enterprise and to enhance its capabilities for research and other laboratory-based scientific and technical activities. The results of EPA's evaluation are expected to include options for colocation and consolidation of laboratory facilities.
Rethinking the Components, Coordination, and Management of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Laboratories assesses EPA's highest-priority needs for mission-relevant laboratory science and technical support, develops principles for the efficient and effective management of EPA's laboratory enterprise to meet the agency's mission needs and strategic goals, and develops guidance for enhancing efficiency and effectiveness now and during the next 10 years. EPA's laboratories play a vital role in the agency's work. The findings and recommendations of this report will help EPA to develop an implementation plan for the laboratory enterprise.
118 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-31237-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-31238-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18950
National Research Council. 2014. Rethinking the Components, Coordination, and Management of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Laboratories. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Extremely hazardous substances can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where these substances are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental releases or intentional releases by terrorists. Pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified approximately 400 EHSs on the basis of acute lethality data in rodents.
Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, Volume 18 identifies, reviews, and interprets relevant toxicologic and other scientific data for selected AEGL documents for bromine chloride, carbonyl fluoride, selected halogen fluorides, and oxygen difluoride in order to develop acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for these high-priority, acutely toxic chemicals.
AEGLs represent threshold exposure limits (exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur) for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes (min) to 8 h. Three levels - AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3 - are developed for each of five exposure periods (10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 4 h, and 8 h) and are distinguished by varying degrees of severity of toxic effects. This report will inform planning, response, and prevention in the community, the workplace, transportation, the military, and the remediation of Superfund sites.
178 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-31189-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-31190-X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18941
National Research Council. 2014. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 18. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Many people in the United States are exposed to styrene. Sources of environmental exposure included food (from migration of styrene from polymer packaging materials), cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust and other forms of combustion and incineration of styrene polymers. Occupational exposure to humans can occur during the industrial processing of styrene. It is used to create a broad spectrum of products, including latex paints and coatings; synthetic rubbers; construction materials, such as pipes, fittings, and lighting fixtures; packaging; household goods, such as synthetic marble, flooring, and molded furnishings; and automotive parts. In 2011, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) listed styrene as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" in its 12th Report on Carcinogens, marking the first time that the substance was listed. Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services to arrange for the National Academy of Sciences to independently review the substance profile of styrene and it listing in the NTP report.
Review of the Styrene Assessment in the National Toxicology Program 12th Report on Carcinogens concurs with the NTP determination that there is limited but credible evidence that exposure to styrene in some occupational settings is associated with an increase in the frequency of lymphohematopoietic cancers. Additionally, the NRC report authoring committee independently reviewed the scientific evidence from studies in humans, experimental animals, and other studies relevant to the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and made level-of-evidence conclusions. Based on credible but limited evidence of carcinogenicity in traditional epidemiologic studies, on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in animals, and on convincing evidence that styrene is genotoxic in exposed humans, this report finds that compelling evidence exists to support a listing of styrene as, at a minimum, "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."
192 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-30178-5
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30179-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18725
National Research Council. 2014. Review of the Styrene Assessment in the National Toxicology Program 12th Report on Carcinogens. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is a program within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is responsible for developing toxicologic assessments of environmental contaminants. An IRIS assessment contains hazard identifications and dose-response assessments of various chemicals related to cancer and noncancer outcomes. Although the program was created to increase consistency among toxicologic assessments within the agency, federal, state, and international agencies and other organizations have come to rely on IRIS assessments for setting regulatory standards, establishing exposure guidelines, and estimating risks to exposed populations. Over the last decade, the National Research Council (NRC) has been asked to review some of the more complex and challenging IRIS assessments, including those of formaldehyde, dioxin, and tetrachloroethylene. In 2011, an NRC committee released its review of the IRIS formaldehyde assessment. Like other NRC committees that had reviewed IRIS assessments, the formaldehyde committee identified deficiencies in the specific assessment and more broadly in some of EPA's general approaches and specific methods. Although the committee focused on evaluating the IRIS formaldehyde assessment, it provided suggestions for improving the IRIS process and a roadmap for its revision in case EPA decided to move forward with changes to the process. Congress directed EPA to implement the report's recommendations and then asked the National Research Council to review the changes that EPA was making (or proposing to make) in response to the recommendations.
Review of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Process provides an overview of some general issues associated with IRIS assessments. This report then addresses evidence identification and evaluation for IRIS assessments and discusses evidence integration for hazard evaluation and methods for calculating reference values and unit risks. The report makes recommendations and considerations for future directions. Overall, Review of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System Process finds that substantial improvements in the IRIS process have been made, and it is clear that EPA has embraced and is acting on the recommendations in the NRC formaldehyde report. The recommendations of this report should be seen as building on the progress that EPA has already made.
170 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-30414-8
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30415-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18764
National Research Council. 2014. Review of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Process. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Extremely hazardous substances can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where these substances are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental releases or intentional releases by terrorists. Pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified approximately 400 EHSs on the basis of acute lethality data in rodents.
Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, Volume 17 identifies, reviews, and interprets relevant toxicologic and other scientific data for selected AEGL documents for acrylonitrile, carbon tetrachloride, cyanogen, epichlorohydrin, ethylene chlorohydrin, toluene, trimethylacetyl chloride, hydrogen bromide, and boron tribromide in order to develop acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for these high-priority, acutely toxic chemicals.
AEGLs represent threshold exposure limits (exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur) for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes (min) to 8 h. Three levels - AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3 - are developed for each of five exposure periods (10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 4 h, and 8 h) and are distinguished by varying degrees of severity of toxic effects. This report will inform planning, response, and prevention in the community, the workplace, transportation, the military, and the remediation of Superfund sites.
492 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-30476-8
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30477-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18796
National Research Council. 2014. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 17. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Potential health effects from chemicals that disrupt endocrine function pose an environmental health concern because of their ability to interfere with normal hormone function in human and wildlife populations. The endocrine system regulates biological processes throughout the body and is sensitive to small changes in hormone concentrations. Endocrine-disruptor research has focused primarily on chemicals that affect three hormone pathways that play important roles in reproduction and development - the estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormone pathways. Some of this research has identified dose-response relationships that have nonmonotonic curves. Nonmonotonic dose-response curves (NMDRs) are of concern because they do not follow the usual assumption made in toxicology that as dose decreases the response also decreases.
The existence of NMDRs has been a controversial topic for decades, and there has been considerable debate about their implications for how chemicals are tested and for how risks from such chemicals are assessed. Toxicity tests are designed to identify hazards and to characterize dose-response relationships, so tests are aimed at finding a (high) dose that elicits a response, and dose-response is explored by testing lower doses spaced to identify statistically a no- or lowest-observed-adverse-effect level. The concern for NMDRs is that such studies, as currently designed, might not detect the inflection of the dose-response curve if only a few doses are tested or if the change in inflection occurs below the range of doses tested. Another concern is that some NMDRs are found for biological effects that are not usually evaluated in toxicity tests. If current testing strategies are inadequate to account for NMDRs, changes to risk assessment practices might be necessary. To help address these issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a draft State-of-the-Science Evaluation: Nonmonotonic Dose Responses as they Apply to Estrogen, Androgen, and Thyroid Pathways and EPA Testing and Assessment Procedures. EPA asked the National Research Council to conduct an independent review of this evaluation to ensure that it is scientifically sound and of high quality.
Review of Environmental Protection Agency's State-of-the-Science Evaluation of Nonmonotonic Dose-Response as they Apply to Endocrine Disrupters evaluates whether EPA's evaluation presents a scientifically sound and high-quality analysis of the literature on NMDRs. This report reviews how well the EPA evaluation described how the assessment was performed, whether consistent methods and criteria were applied in the analysis of different evidence streams, and whether appropriate methods were applied to evaluating the evidence. The report makes recommendations to improve EPA's process and strengthen the evaluation.
64 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29754-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29755-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18608
National Research Council. 2014. Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's State-of-the-Science Evaluation of Nonmonotonic Dose-Response Relationships as they Apply to Endocrine Disruptors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Extremely hazardous substances can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where these substances are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne extremely hazardous substances during accidental releases or intentional releases by terrorists. Pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified approximately 400 extremely hazardous substances on the basis of acute lethality data in rodents.
Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, Volume 16 identifies, reviews, and interprets relevant toxicologic and other scientific data for selected aliphatic nitriles, benzonitrile, methacrylonitrile, allyl alcohol, hydrogen selenide, ketene, and tear gasin order to develop acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for these high-priority, acutely toxic chemicals.
AEGLs represent threshold exposure limits (exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur) for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes (min) to 8 h. Three levels - AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3 - are developed for each of five exposure periods (10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 4 h, and 8 h) and are distinguished by varying degrees of severity of toxic effects. This report will inform planning, response, and prevention in the community, the workplace, transportation, the military, and the remediation of Superfund sites.
398 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-30096-7
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30097-5
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18707
National Research Council. 2014. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Despite the increase in funding for research and the rising numbers of peer-reviewed publications over the past decade that address the environmental, health, and safety aspects of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), uncertainty about the implications of potential exposures of consumers, workers, and ecosystems to these materials persists. Consumers and workers want to know which of these materials they are exposed to and whether the materials can harm them. Industry is concerned about being able to predict with sufficient certainty whether products that it makes and markets will pose any environmental, health or safety issues and what measures should be taken regarding manufacturing practices and worldwide distribution to minimize any potential risk. However, there remains a disconnect between the research that is being carried out and its relevance to and use by decision-makers and regulators to make informed public health and environmental policy and regulatory decisions.
Research Progress on Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Nanomaterials evaluates research progress and updates research priorities and resource estimates on the basis of results of studies and emerging trends in the nanotechnology industry. This report follows up the 2012 report A Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials, which presented a strategic approach for developing the science and research infrastructure needed to address uncertainties regarding the potential environmental, health, and safety risks posed by ENMs. This new report looks at the state of nanotechnology research, examines market and regulatory conditions and their affect on research priorities, and considers the criteria for evaluating research progress on the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanotechnology.
162 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29186-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29187-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18475
National Research Council. 2013. Research Progress on Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program develops toxicologic assessments of environmental contaminants. IRIS assessments provide hazard identification and dose-response assessment information. The information is then used in conjunction with exposure information to characterize risks to public health and may be used in risk-based decisionmaking, in regulatory actions, and for other risk-management purposes. Since the middle 1990s, EPA has been in the process of updating the IRIS assessment of inorganic arsenic. In response to a congressional mandate for an independent review of the IRIS assessment of inorganic arsenic, EPA requested that the National Research Council convene a committee to conduct a two-phase study. Critical Aspects of EPA's IRIS Assessment of Inorganic Arsenic is the report of the first phase of that study. This report evaluates critical scientific issues in assessing cancer and noncancer effects of oral exposure to inorganic arsenic and offers recommendations on how the issues could be addressed in EPA's IRIS assessment.
127 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29706-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29707-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18594
National Research Council. 2013. Critical Aspects of EPA's IRIS Assessment of Inorganic Arsenic: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, Volume 15 identifies, reviews, and interprets relevant toxicologic and other scientific data for ethyl mercaptan, methyl mercaptan, phenyl mercaptan, tert-octyl mercaptan, lewisite, methyl isothiocyanate, and selected monoisocyanates in order to develop acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for these high-priority, acutely toxic chemicals.
AEGLs represent threshold exposure limits (exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur) for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes (min) to 8 h. Three level—AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3—are developed for each of five exposure periods (10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 4 h, and 8 h) and are distinguished by varying degrees of severity of toxic effects. This report will inform planning, response, and prevention in the community, the workplace, transportation, the military, and the remediation of Superfund sites.
294 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29122-4
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29123-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18449
National Research Council. 2013. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 15. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide technical guidance for establishing community emergency exposure levels for extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. As a result the NRC published Guidelines for Developing Community Emergency Exposure Levels for Hazardous Substances in 1993 and Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances in 2001; providing updated procedures, methods, and other guidelines used by the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for hazardous substances for assessing acute adverse health effects. Stemming from this report the NAC has developed AEGLs for at least 270 EHSs.
There are currently three AEGLs: AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3. AEGL-1 is the airborne concentration of a substance above which it is predicted that the general population could experience notable discomfort, irritation, or certain asymptomatic nonsensory effects. These effects are not disabling and are transient and reversible once exposure is stopped. AEGL-2 is the airborne concentration (of a substance above which it is predicted that the general population could experience irreversible, long-lasting adverse health effects or an impaired ability to escape. AEGL-3 is the airborne concentration of a substance above which it is predicted that the general population could experience life threatening health effects or death.
On April 22-24 2013, the NRC-established Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels 2013 met to review AEGL documents approved by the NAC. The committee members were selected for their expertise in toxicology, medicine, industrial hygiene, biostatistics, and risk assessment. Twenty-second Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels presents a review of AEGLs for various chemicals including acrylonitrile, halogen fluorides, tellurium hexafluoride, and thionyl chloride.
56 pages
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29058-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18432
National Research Council. 2013. Twenty-second Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are responsible for protecting species that are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and for protecting habitats that are critical for their survival. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for registering or reregistering pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and must ensure that pesticide use does not cause any unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, which is interpreted to include listed species and their critical habitats. The agencies have developed their own approaches to evaluating environmental risk, and their approaches differ because their legal mandates, responsibilities, institutional cultures, and expertise differ. Over the years, the agencies have tried to resolve their differences but have been unsuccessful in reaching a consensus regarding their assessment approaches.
As a result, FWS, NMFS, EPA, and the US Department of Agriculture asked the National Research Council (NRC) to examine scientific and technical issues related to determining risks posed to listed species by pesticides. Specifically, the NRC was asked to evaluate methods for identifying the best scientific data available; to evaluate approaches for developing modeling assumptions; to identify authoritative geospatial information that might be used in risk assessments; to review approaches for characterizing sublethal, indirect, and cumulative effects; to assess the scientific information available for estimating effects of mixtures and inert ingredients; and to consider the use of uncertainty factors to account for gaps in data. Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides, which was prepared by the NRC Committee on Ecological Risk Assessment under FIFRA and ESA, is the response to that request.
194 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-28583-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-28584-4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18344
National Research Council. 2013. Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) can be released accidentally as a result of result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where EHSs are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental releases or intentional releases by terrorists. Pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified approximately 400 EHSs on the basis of acute lethality data in rodents.
As part of its efforts to develop acute exposure guideline levels for EHSs, EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in 1991 requested that the National Research Council (NRC) develop guidelines for establishing such levels. In response to that request, the NRC published Guidelines for Developing Community Emergency Exposure Levels for Hazardous Substances in 1993. Subsequently, Standard Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances was published in 2001, providing updated procedures, methodologies, and other guidelines used by the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances and the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) in developing the AEGL values.
Using the 1993 and 2001 NRC guidelines reports, the NAC—consisting of members from EPA, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), other federal and state governments, the chemical industry, academia, and other organizations from the private sector—has developed AEGLs for more than 270 EHSs. In 1998, EPA and DOD requested that the NRC independently review the AEGLs developed by NAC. In response to that request, the NRC organized within its Committee on Toxicology (COT) the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, which prepared this report. This report is the fourteenth volume in that series. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 14 summarizes the committee's conclusions and recommendations.
290 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-28308-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-28309-4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18313
National Research Council. 2013. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 14. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Lead is a ubiquitous metal in the environment, and its adverse effects on human health are well documented. Lead interacts at multiple cellular sites and can alter protein function in part through binding to amino acid sulfhydryl and carboxyl groups on a wide variety of structural and functional proteins. In addition, lead mimics calcium and other divalent cations, and it induces the increased production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Adverse effects associated with lead exposure can be observed in multiple body systems, including the nervous, cardiovascular, renal, hematologic, immunologic, and reproductive systems. Lead exposure is also known to induce adverse developmental effects in utero and in the developing neonate.
Lead poses an occupational health hazard, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a lead standard for general industry that regulates many workplace exposures to this metal. The standard was promulgated in 1978 and encompasses several approaches for reducing exposure to lead, including the establishment of a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 μg/m3 in air (an 8-hour time-weighted average [TWA]), exposure guidelines for instituting medical surveillance, guidelines for removal from and return to work, and other risk-management strategies. An action level of 30 μg/m3 (an 8-hour TWA) for lead was established to trigger medical surveillance in employees exposed above that level for more than 30 days per year. Another provision is that any employee who has a blood lead level (BLL) of 60 μg/dL or higher or three consecutive BLLs averaging 50 μg/dL or higher must be removed from work involving lead exposure. An employee may resume work associated with lead exposure only after two BLLs are lower than 40 μg/dL. Thus, maintaining BLLs lower than 40 μg/dL was judged by OSHA to protect workers from adverse health effects. The OSHA standard also includes a recommendation that BLLs of workers who are planning a pregnancy be under 30μg/dL.
In light of knowledge about the hazards posed by occupational lead exposure, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked the National Research Council to evaluate potential health risks from recurrent lead exposure of firing-range personnel. Specifically, DOD asked the National Research Council to determine whether current exposure standards for lead on DOD firing ranges protect its workers adequately.The committee also considered measures of cumulative lead dose. Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure will help to inform decisions about setting new air exposure limits for lead on firing ranges, about whether to implement limits for surface contamination, and about how to design lead-surveillance programs for range personnel appropriately.
198 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-26736-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-26737-4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18249
National Research Council. 2013. Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Twelve years into the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project, little progress has been made in restoring the core of the remaining Everglades ecosystem; instead, most project construction so far has occurred along its periphery. To reverse ongoing ecosystem declines, it will be necessary to expedite restoration projects that target the central Everglades, and to improve both the quality and quantity of the water in the ecosystem.
The new Central Everglades Planning Project offers an innovative approach to this challenge, although additional analyses are needed at the interface of water quality and water quantity to maximize restoration benefits within existing legal constraints. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Fourth Biennial Review, 2012 explains the innovative approach to expedite restoration progress and additional rigorous analyses at the interface of water quality and quantity will be essential to maximize restoration benefits.
260 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-25922-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-25923-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/13422
National Research Council. 2012. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Fourth Biennial Review, 2012. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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At the request of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Research Council has reviewed the relevant scientific literature compiled by an expert panel and established Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for several chemicals. AEGLs represent exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur and are useful in responding to emergencies, such as accidental or intentional chemical releases in community, workplace, transportation, and military settings, and for the remediation of contaminated sites.
Three AEGLs are approved for each chemical, representing exposure levels that result in: 1) notable but reversible discomfort; 2) long-lasting health effects; and 3) life-threatening health impacts. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 13 includes AEGLs for boron trifluoride, bromoacetone, chloroacetone, hexafluoroacetone, perchloryl fluoride, piperidine, propargyl alcohol, trimethoxysilane and tetramethoxysilane, and trimethylbenzenes.
292 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29025-2
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29026-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/15852
National Research Council. 2012. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 13. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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In anticipation of future environmental science and engineering challenges and technologic advances, EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to assess the overall capabilities of the agency to develop, obtain, and use the best available scientific and technologic information and tools to meet persistent, emerging, and future mission challenges and opportunities. Although the committee cannot predict with certainty what new environmental problems EPA will face in the next 10 years or more, it worked to identify some of the common drivers and common characteristics of problems that are likely to occur.
Tensions inherent to the structure of EPA's work contribute to the current and persistent challenges faced by the agency, and meeting those challenges will require development of leading-edge scientific methods, tools, and technologies, and a more deliberate approach to systems thinking and interdisciplinary science. Science for Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead outlines a framework for building science for environmental protection in the 21st century and identified key areas where enhanced leadership and capacity can strengthen the agency's abilities to address current and emerging environmental challenges as well as take advantage of new tools and technologies to address them. The foundation of EPA science is strong, but the agency needs to continue to address numerous present and future challenges if it is to maintain its science leadership and meet its expanding mandates.
250 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-26489-8
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-26490-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/13510
National Research Council. 2012. Science for Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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