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Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 2000. Re-evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9901.
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Introduction

DIMP IS A GROUNDWATER contaminant at and near the Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Adams County, Colorado. It was released into the environment as a result of the manufacturing process and neutralization of GB (Sarin), which was manufactured at the arsenal between 1953 and 1957. There has been a long-standing controversy between the Army and the State of Colorado regarding the appropriate drinking-water guideline for DIMP. EPA recommends a guideline (lifetime health advisory) of 600 µg/L, whereas the State of Colorado has promulgated a lower guideline of 8 µg/L. The reason for the difference is that different studies were used to calculate the drinking-water guidelines. Colorado used a one-generation reproductive toxicity study in mink (Aulerich et al. 1979) that reported increased mortality in female mink. EPA did not use that study, citing natural high mortality in captive mink and uncertainties about the relevance of mink to human health assessment. Instead, EPA used a 90-day toxicity study in dogs (Hart et al. 1980).

In 1990, the NRC Committee on Toxicology (COT) evaluated the scientific basis for the two drinking-water guidelines for DIMP. COT found the data from the one-generation mink study to be compromised because of inadequate testing and reporting procedures, and it concluded that EPA's drinking-water guideline for DIMP was an appropriate interim drinking-water guideline until additional research was

Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 2000. Re-evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9901.
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done. COT recommended that another reproductive toxicity study in mink be conducted. In 1997, a two-generation reproductive toxicity study (Bucci et al. 1997) in mink was completed, and the Army requested that NRC independently review the study and other recent publications on DIMP to determine whether the interim drinking-water guideline supported by NRC in 1990 is still valid. If it is not, the subcommittee was asked to make scientific recommendations for developing an appropriate guidance level.

Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 2000. Re-evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9901.
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Page 3
Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 2000. Re-evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9901.
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Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate (DIMP) is a groundwater contaminant at the U.S. Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado. DIMP is a by-product created from the manufacture and detoxification of the nerve agent GB which the arsenal produced from 1953 to 1957. For awhile the Army and the State of Colorado disagreed upon the appropriate drinking-water contaminant guideline for DIMP. A drinking-water guideline of 600 micrograms per liter was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 but the State of Colorado promulgated a lower guideline of 8 micrograms per liter. The significant difference between the two suggested values arose from the fact that both sides used different studies to determine their values. Colorado used one-generation reproductive toxicity study in mink, whereas EPA used a subchronic toxicity study in dogs.

To resolve the disagreement, a two-generation reproductive study in mink was conducted. The Army asked the National Research Council (NRC) to independently evaluate the 1997 study and re-evaluate the drinking-water guideline for DIMP. This task was assigned to the Committee on Toxicology, which established the Subcommittee on the Toxicity of Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate, a multidisciplinary group of experts. The subcommittee evaluated the two-generation reproductive study as well as other studies relevant to the task. Data on the use of mink as a predictive model in toxicology were also reviewed. Re-Evaluation of Drinking-Water Guidelines for Diisopropyl Methylphosphonate is the subcommittee's report which shows that neither party was corrected in their DIMP guidelines. The report includes the subcommittee's evaluation and recommendations concerning the topic.

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