Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals
VOLUME 2
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This project was supported by Contract Nos. DAMD17-89-C-9086 and DAMD17-99-C-9049 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Army. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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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. Wm.A.Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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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. Wm.A.Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ACUTE EXPOSURE GUIDELINE LEVELS
Members
DANIEL KREWSKI, (Chair),
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
EDWARD C.BISHOP,
Parsons Corporation, Fairfax, Virginia
JAMES V.BRUCKNER,
University of Georgia, Athens
JOHN DOULL,
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City
DONALD E.GARDNER,
Inhalation Toxicology Associates, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina
DAVID W.GAYLOR,
Gaylor and Associates, Little Rock, Arkansas
FLORENCE K.KINOSHITA,
Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, Delaware
KANNAN KRISHNAN,
University of Montreal, Canada
STEPHEN U.LESTER,
Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Falls Church, Virginia
HARIHARA MEHENDALE,
University of Louisiana, Monroe
FRANZ OESCH,
University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
RICHARD B.SCHLESINGER,
New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo
CALVIN C.WILLHITE,
State of California, Berkeley
FREDERIK DE WOLFF,
Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
Staff
KULBIR S.BAKSHI, Program Director
KELLY A.CLARK, Editor
AIDA NEEL, Administrative Assistant
COMMITTEE ON TOXICOLOGY
Members
BAILUS WALKER, JR. (Chair),
Howard University Medical Center and American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
MELVIN E.ANDERSEN,
Colorado State University, Denver
EDWARD C.BISHOP,
Parsons Corporation, Fairfax, Virginia
GARY P.CARLSON,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
JANICE E.CHAMBERS,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State
LEONARD CHIAZZE, JR.,
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
JUDITH A.GRAHAM,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
SIDNEY GREEN,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
SAM KACEW,
Department of Pharmacology Faculty of Medicine and University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
NANCY KERKVLIET,
Oregon State University, Agricultural and Life Sciences, Corvallis
MERYL KAROL,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
STEPHEN U.LESTER,
Center for Health Environment and Justice, Falls Church, Virginia
HARIHARA MEHENDALE,
The University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe
DAVID H.MOORE,
Battelle Memorial Institute, Bel Air, Maryland
CALVIN C.WILLHITE,
State of California, Berkeley
LAUREN ZEISE,
California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland
Staff
KULBIR S.BAKSHI, Program Director
SUSAN N.J.MARTEL, Senior Program Officer
ABIGAIL E.STACK, Program Officer
RUTH CROSSGROVE, Managing Editor
KELLY CLARK, Editorial Assistant
AIDA NEEL, Administrative Assistant
JESSICA BROCK, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
Members
GORDON ORIANS (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle
JOHN DOULL (Vice Chair),
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City
DAVID ALLEN,
University of Texas, Austin
INGRID C.BURKE,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
THOMAS BURKE,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
WILLIAM L.CHAMEIDES,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
CHRISTOPHER B.FIELD,
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, California
DANIEL S.GREENBAUM,
Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts
BRUCE D.HAMMOCK,
University of California, Davis
ROGENE HENDERSON,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CAROL HENRY,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
ROBERT HUGGETT,
Michigan State University, East Lansing
JAMES H.JOHNSON,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
JAMES F.KITCHELL,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
DANIEL KREWSKI,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
JAMES A.MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan
WILLEM F.PASSCHIER,
Health Council of the Netherlands, The Hague
ANN POWERS,
Pace University School of Law, White Plains, New York
LOUISE M.RYAN,
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
KIRK SMITH,
University of California, Berkeley
LISA SPEER,
Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, New York
Senior Staff
JAMES J.REISA, Director
DAVID J.POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Senior Program Director for Applied Ecology
RAYMOND A.WASSEL, Senior Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology
ROBERTA M.WEDGE, Program Director for Risk Analysis
K.JOHN HOLMES, Senior Staff Officer
SUSAN N.J.MARTEL, Senior Staff Officer
SUZANNE VAN DRUNICK, Senior Staff Officer
RUTH E.CROSSGROVE, Managing Editor
OTHER REPORTS OF THE BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
The Airliner Cabin Environment and Health of Passengers and Crew (2002)
Arsenic in Drinking Water: 2001 Update (2001)
Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs (2001)
Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act (2001)
A Risk-Management Strategy for PCB-Contaminated Sediments (2001)
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)
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 (3 reports, 1998–2001)
Ozone-Forming Potential of Reformulated Gasoline (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)
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)
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)
Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas (1993)
Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)
Science and the National Parks (1992)
Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program, Volumes I–IV (1991–1993)
Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)
Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution (1991)
Decline of the Sea Turtles (1990)
Copies of these reports may be ordered from the National Academy Press
(800) 624–6242 or (202) 334–3313
Preface
Extremely hazardous substances (EHSs)1 can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. The people 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. 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, along with 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.
Using the 1993 NRC guidelines report, the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances —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 acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for approximately 80 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 the Subcommittee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, which prepared this report. This report is the second volume in the series Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals. It reviews the appropriateness of the AEGLs for five chemicals for their scientific validity, completeness, and consistency with the NRC guideline reports.
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 will assist the institution in making its 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 review of this report: Leonard Chiazze, Jr., of Georgetown University; Sidney Green of Howard University; Sam Kacew of the University of Ottawa; and Ralph Kodell of the National Center for Toxicological Research.
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 Robert A.Goyer, appointed by the Division on Earth and Life Studies, 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.
The subcommittee gratefully acknowledges the valuable assistance provided by the following persons: Roger Garrett, Paul Tobin, Ernest Falke, and Letty Tahan (all from EPA); George Rusch (Honeywell, Inc.); William Bress (Vermont Department of Health); George Rogers (University of Louisville); Po Yung Lu, Cheryl Bast, and Sylvia Talmage (all from Oak Ridge National Laboratory). Aida Neel was the project assistant. Kelly Clark edited the report. We are grateful to James J.Reisa, director of the Board on Environ-
mental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), for his helpful comments. The subcommittee particularly acknowledges Kulbir Bakshi, project director for the subcommittee, for bringing the report to completion. Finally, we would like to thank all members of the subcommittee for their expertise and dedicated effort throughout the development of this report.
Daniel Krewski, Chair
Subcommittee on Acute Exposure
Guideline Levels
Bailus Walker, Chair
Committee on Toxicology