EPA Releases First Set of High-Volume Chemicals
ON Sept. 10, EPA announced the release of the first set of Hazard Characterizations on 101 High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals. These characterizations are based on the agency's scientific review of the screening-level hazard, or toxicity, data that was submitted by the U.S. chemical industry through EPA's HPV Challenge Program or other information previously collected by the agency.
The HPV Challenge Program challenged companies to provide the public with basic health and safety data on chemicals that are manufactured in excess of a million pounds a year. The hazard characterizations include a summary of the data submitted, EPA's evaluation of the quality and completeness of the data, and an assessment of the potential hazards that a chemical or chemical category may pose. EPA will combine this information with human and environmental exposure information collected from EPA's Inventory Update Reporting to develop a risk characterization and, based on that review, determine if additional action is needed to ensure the safety of the HPV chemicals' manufacture and use.
The agency intends to use this approach to assess risks and identify and take needed action on 3000 HPV chemicals by 2012. This was one of the elements of the North American chemical cooperation commitment announced by the United States, Canada and Mexico at the Security and Prosperity Partnership North American Leaders' Summit in Canada in August. For additional information on this announcement, visit the HPV Challenge Program Web site at http://www.epa.gov/hpv.
EPA will continue to prepare and periodically post additional HPV chemical hazard characterizations as they are developed. The agency also intends to post risk characterizations on chemicals when they are developed and completed, beginning later this year.
More information on the first set of hazard characterizations can be found at http://iaspub.epa.gov/oppthpv/hpv_hc_characterization.get_report.