Re-evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate (2000)
Chapter: Front Matter
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TOXICITY OF DIISOPROPYL METHYLPHOSPHONATE
JOHN A. MOORE (Chair),
Center for Evaluating Risks to Human Reproduction, Alexandria, Virginia
MELVIN E. ANDERSEN,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
PETER L. DEFUR,
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
PAUL M.D. FOSTER,
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
SIDNEY GREEN,
Howard University, Washington, DC
DAVID H. MOORE,
Battelle Memorial Institute, Bel Air, Maryland
Staff
SUSAN N.J. PANG, Project Director
KATE KELLY, Editor
MIRSADA KARALIC-LONCAREVIC, Information Specialist
LEAH L. PROBST, Senior Project Assistant
EMILY L. SMAIL, Project Assistant
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Defense
COMMITTEE ON TOXICOLOGY
BAILUS WALKER, JR. (Chair),
Howard University Medical Center and American Public Health Association, Washington, DC
MELVIN E. ANDERSEN,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
GERMAINE M. BUCK,
University of Buffalo, State of New York
ROBERT E. FORSTFR II,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
PAUL M.D. FOSTER,
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
WILLIAM E. HALPERIN,
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio
CHARLES H. HOBBS,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
SAMUEL KACEW,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
NANCY KERKVLIET,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
FLORENCE K. KINOSHITA,
Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, Delaware
MICHAEL J. KOSNETT,
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver
MORTON LIPPMANN,
New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo
ERNEST E. MCCONNELL,
ToxPath, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina
THOMAS E. MCKONE,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley
HARIHARA MEHENDALE,
University of Louisiana, Monroe
DAVID H. MOORE,
Battelle Memorial Institute, Bel Air, Maryland
GÜNTER OBERDÖRSTER,
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
JOHN L. O'DONOGHUE,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York
GEORGE M. RUSCH,
AlliedSignal, Inc., Morristown, New Jersey
MARY E. VORE,
University of Kentucky, Lexington
ANNETTA P. WATSON,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
LAUREN ZEISE,
California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland
Staff
KULBIR S. BAKSHI, Program Director
SUSAN N.J. PANG, Program Officer
ABIGAIL E. STACK, Program Officer
RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Publications Manager
KATHRINE J. IVERSON, Manager
Toxicology Information Center
EMILY L. SMAIL, Project Assistant
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
GORDON ORIANS (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle
DONALD MATTISON (Vice Chair),
March of Dimes, White Plains, New York
DAVID ALLEN,
University of Texas, Austin
INGRID C. BURKE,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
WILLIAM L. CHAMEIDES,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
JOHN DOULL,
The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City
CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD,
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, California
JOHN GERHART,
University of California, Berkeley
J. PAUL GILMAN,
Celera Genomics, Rockville, Maryland
BRUCE D. HAMMOCK,
University of California, Davis
MARK HARWELL,
University of Miami, Miami, Florida
ROGENE HENDERSON,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CAROL HENRY,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
BARBARA HULKA,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
JAMES F. KITCHELL,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
DANIEL KREWSKI,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
JAMES A. MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan
MARIO J. MOLINA,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
CHARLES O'MELIA,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
WILLEM F. PASSCHIER,
Health Council of the Netherlands, The Hague
KIRK SMITH,
University of California, Berkeley
MARGARET STRAND,
Oppenheimer Wolff Donnelly & Bayh, LLP, Washington, DC
TERRY F. YOSIE,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
Senior Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Senior Program Director for Applied Ecology
CAROL A. MACZKA, Senior Program Director for Toxicology and Risk Assessment
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology
LEE R. PAULSON, Program Director for Resource Management
ROBERTA M. WEDGE, Program Director for Risk Analysis
COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES
MICHAEL T. CLEGG (Chair),
University of California, Riverside,
PAUL BERG (Vice Chair),
Stanford University, Stanford, California
FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, D.C.
JOANNA BURGER,
Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
JAMES E. CLEAVER,
University of California, San Francisco
DAVID S. EISENBERG,
University of California, Los Angeles
JOHN L. EMMERSON,
Fishers, Indiana
NEAL L. FIRST,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
DAVID J. GALAS,
Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science, Claremont, California
DAVID V. GOEDDEL,
Tularik, Inc., South San Francisco, California
ARTURO GOMEZ-POMPA,
University of California, Riverside
COREY S. GOODMAN,
University of California, Berkeley
JON W. GORDON,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
DAVID G. HOEL,
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston
BARBARA S. HULKA,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
CYNTHIA J. KENYON,
University of California, San Francisco
BRUCE R. LEVIN,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
DAVID M. LIVINGSTON,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
DONALD R. MATTISON,
March of Dimes, White Plains, New York
ELLIOT M. MEYEROWITZ,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
ROBERT T. PAINE,
University of Washington, Seattle
RONALD R. SEDEROFF,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
ROBERT R. SOKAL,
State University of New York, Stony Brook
CHARLES F. STEVENS,
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
SHIRLEY M. TILGHMAN,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
RAYMOND L. WHITE,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Staff
WARREN R. MUIR, Executive Director
JACQUELINE K. PRINCE, Financial Officer
BARBARA B. SMITH, Administrative Associate
LAURA T. HOLLIDAY, Senior Program Assistant
OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury (2000)
Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Research-Management and Peer-Review Practices (2000)
Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment (2000)
Modeling Mobile-Source Emissions (2000)
Toxicological Risks of Selected Flame-Retardant Chemicals (2000)
Copper in Drinking Water (2000)
Ecological Indicators for the Nation (2000)
Waste Incineration and Public Health (1999)
Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment (1999)
Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter: I. Immediate Priorities and a Long-Range Research Portfolio (1998); II. Evaluating Research Progress and Updating the Portfolio (1999)
Ozone-Forming Potential of Reformulated Gasoline (1999)
Risk-Based Waste Classification in California (1999)
Arsenic in Drinking Water (1999)
Brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Area (1998)
The National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology: The First 50 Years (1997)
Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion Tests (1997)
Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet (1996)
Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest (1996)
Science and the Endangered Species Act (1995)
Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)
Biologic Markers (5 reports, 1989-1995)
Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (3 reports, 1994-1995)
Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment (1994)
Ranking Hazardous Waste Sites for Remedial Action (1994)
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)
Issues in Risk Assessment (1993)
Setting Priorities for Land Conservation (1993)
Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas (1993)
Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)
Hazardous Materials on the Public Lands (1992)
Science and the National Parks (1992)
Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards (1991)
Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program, Volumes I-IV (1991-1993)
Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)
OTHER REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON TOXICOLOGY
Methods for Developing Spacecraft Water Exposure Guidelines (2000)
Review of the U.S. Navy Environmental Health Center's Health-Hazard Assessment Process (2000)
Review of the U.S. Navy's Exposure Standard for Manufactured Vitreous Fibers (2000)
Submarine Exposure Guidance Levels for Selected Hydrofluorocarbons: HFC-236fa, HFC-23, and HFC-404a (2000)
Review of the U.S. Army's Health Risk Assessments for Oral Exposure to Six Chemical-Warfare Agents (1999)
Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants, Volume 1 (1997), Volume 2 (1999), Volume 3 (1999)
Assessment of Exposure-Response Functions for Rocket-Emission Toxicants (1998)
Review of a Screening Level Risk Assessment for the Naval Air Facility at Atsugi, Japan (Letter Report) (1998)
Toxicity of Alternatives to Chlorofluorocarbons: HFC-134a and HCFC-123 (1996)
Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors (1996)
Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants, Volume 1 (1994), Volume 2 (1996), Volume 3 (1996), Volume 4 (2000)
Preface
THERE HAS BEEN a long-standing disagreement between the U.S. Army and the tate of Colorado over the appropriate drinking-water guideline for diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), a groundwater contaminant at the U.S. Army 's Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The disagreement is over the 100-fold difference between the guideline established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the one promulgated by Colorado.
In response to a request from the Army, the National Research Council (NRC) has conducted an independent evaluation of new studies on the toxicity of DIMP and a re-evaluation of the federal and state drinking-water guidelines for DIMP. This report is intended to provide information to help assess clean-up efforts at the arsenal.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that assist the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Maureen Feuston, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Malvern, Pennsylvania; Curtis
Klaassen, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas; Loren Koller, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; and Ernest Eugene McConnell, ToxPath, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Harihara Mehendale, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, Louisiana, appointed by the Commission on Life Sciences, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
We gratefully acknowledge the individuals who provided background material and gave presentations to the subcommittee: Thomas Bucci, Pathology Associates International; Edward Calabrese, University of Massachusetts; Timothy Kilgannon, Rocky Mountain Arsenal; Raj Goyal, Edward La Rock, and Ellen Mangione, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; and William Wustenburg, Alternet Medical.
We are also grateful for the assistance of the NRC staff in preparing the report. Staff members who contributed to this effort are Carol Maczka, senior program director for the Toxicology and Risk Assessment Program; Kulbir Bakshi, senior program director of the Committee on Toxicology; Kate Kelly, technical editor; Leah Probst and Emily Smail, project assistants; and Mirsada Karalic-Loncarevic, information specialist. We especially wish to recognize the contributions of project director Susan Pang, who coordinated the project and contributed to the preparation of the subcommittee's report.
Finally, we would like to thank all the members of the subcommittee for their dedicated efforts throughout the development of this report.
John A. Moore, D.V.M.
Chair, Subcommittee on the Toxicity of Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate
Bailus Walker, Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chair, Committee on Toxicology
