Companies Volunteer Early to Fill Key Data Gaps on Over 1,100 Chemicals

The first round of commitments in a unique program for obtaining basic data on the health and environmental effects of high-volume chemicals covers over 1,100 major industrial chemicals, according to data released today by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). More than 190 companies have made commitments to date. Additional signups will be accepted until Dec. 1, 1999. (Thereafter, EPA will require testing of chemicals that have not been sponsored).

“This first round of commitments alone stands for nearly 20 years’ worth of progress compared to the earlier pace of getting data,” said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) attorney Karen Florini. “Before the December deadline, we hope that voluntary commitments by industry will cover virtually all of the 2,800 chemicals included in this program.” The pledges are part of the High Production Volume (HPV) chemical challenge program announced last October by Vice President Al Gore, aimed at assuring the availability of screening data for 2,800 industrial chemicals produced in the US in quantities exceeding 1 million pounds annually.

“Industry groups, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Environmental Defense Fund agree — we can’t go on without having basic facts about the potential toxicity of major industrial chemicals,” said Florini. “EDF commends the leadership that these chemical manufacturing companies are showing, and we look forward to their being joined by their competitors.”

Once a company has made a commitment to sponsor a chemical, the sponsor’s first task is to gather and review existing information, and compare it to a basic set of hazard screening data called the Screening Information Data Set (SIDS). Companies next develop a test plan to fill any gaps in the data required by SIDS, using approved test methods. Draft test plans will be made publicly available via the Internet at the beginning of the year in which any necessary testing is to begin (generally 2001 to 2003), so that any overlooked data can be brought to the sponsor’s attention and unnecessary testing avoided.

The unprecedented chemical testing program follows the landmark EDF Toxic Ignorance study by EDF in 1997, which showed that most chemicals used in very high volumes in the US lack even basic information about their potential health effects. US EPA and the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) then confirmed EDF’s findings in separate follow-up studies, and coordinated with EDF to design the accelerated testing program. Tests for the 2,800 chemicals are to be completed within five years, instead of the 40 years previously anticipated.