New US rules to allow higher exposure to chemicals

[Guest guest]

Boston Globe 3/4/03:

New US rules to allow higher exposure to chemicals

Critics say change to give industry greater influence

By Shogren, Los Angeles Times, 3/4/2003

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency proposed yesterday to

overhaul guidelines for assessing whether chemicals or other substances pose

cancer risks. The new procedures generally would permit higher exposure to

such chemicals, officials said.

For the first time, the agency proposed supplemental guidelines for gauging

risks to children. Children are more susceptible to some toxic chemicals than

adults.

Environmental groups called the special guidelines for children a step in the

right direction, but they warned that the general guidelines would allow

industry to challenge assessments.

''Strongly pushed by industry, EPA is moving in the direction to regulate

fewer chemicals as cancer-causing agents,'' said K. Olson, a senior

lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council. ''In the long run, it is

going to have profoundly bad effects on public health.''

The chemical and pesticide industries, whose products are often the focus of

cancer risk assessments, applauded the approach. Those industries have

pressed the EPA for years to give more weight to the difference between the

ways humans and animals are affected by chemicals. Traditionally, the cancer

risk assessments have been based on tests on laboratory animals.

The new proposal would ''emphasize the best available science to guide policy

makers and to inform the public,'' said VandenHeuvel, spokesman for the

Chemistry Council, which represents most large chemical makers.

The guidelines are expected to be made final as early as this summer. Under

them, the public would be given descriptions of the risks posed by chemicals

and the ways in which individuals could be exposed.

Officials said that chemicals would be less likely to be assessed as having

high cancer risks, because government scientists would draw on broader

scientific evidence when making their evaluations.

''More often than not, as we get better knowledge, it's likely that the

estimates of the risks will be coming down,'' said H. Farland, acting

deputy assistant EPA administrator for science.

But Farland stressed that government scientists would fall back on the old

system if there is too much uncertainty in the available scientific data. The

new approach will represent no lessened protection for public health but will

be informed by better science, Farland said.

In fact, the additional data may provide government scientists with clues

about population groups, such as children, that are more susceptible to

developing cancer from particular chemicals.

''There might be a higher risk for a subpopulation as the general risk goes

down,'' said Cogliano, chairman of the cancer guidelines writing group.

A recently completed cancer risk assessment for chloroform, a chemical

produced when chlorine is used to treat drinking water, serves as an example

of how EPA scientists would use the new guidelines, Farland said.

Because chloroform caused cancer in laboratory animals, it probably would

have been judged a carcinogen under the old rules. But EPA scientists

determined that there is no cancer risk unless certain organs are damaged,

Farland said. So chloroform was judged to be a cancer risk only in high

doses.

Olson said those kinds of procedures give industry an upper hand. ''The

burden of proof comes on EPA to show industry arguments aren't valid,'' Olson

said.

And most of EPA's data, he said, comes from studies funded by companies that

are trying to keep their chemicals from being labeled as carcinogens.

Farland dismissed the concern that industry would have more influence over

the process. He stressed that under the new guidelines, government scientists

would analyze a wide variety of information from government agencies and

academic institutions. The evaluations would also be subject to peer review.

This story ran on page A3 of the Boston Globe on 3/4/2003.

©

http://boston.com/globe/search/copyright.html

All in/out messages including attachments and HTML, are screened for viruses using the latest anti-virus software and firewall anti-virus protections.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)