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History of the AEGL Program
In 1986, the National Advisory Committee for the Development of Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances (AEGL Committee) was formed to develop and recommend to EPA AEGLs for hazardous chemicals for use in chemical emergency programs. These levels also can be used by other federal, state and local agencies and the private sector for emergency planning, prevention and response activities related to the accidental release of hazardous substances.
EPA has been actively involved since 1988 in a program leading to the planned development of short-term exposure guidelines for accidental air-borne chemical releases. In April, 1988, EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT)organized and held a National Workshop to determine the status of short-term exposure guideline level development. Based on the findings of the workshop, the idea to establish a combined effort for the future development of short-term guideline levels was conceived and a program was implemented.
In September, 1989, OPPT and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) provided funding for a cooperative agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop a methodology that could be used to develop short-term exposure guideline levels. The NAS commenced work on this task in October, 1990. From October, 1990 until February, 1993, OPPT staff continually met with the NAS Committee on Toxicology to articulate specific uses of, and requirements for, short-term exposure guideline levels. In June, 1993, the NAS published its report, entitled Guidelines for Developing Community Emergency Exposure Levels for Hazardous Substances.
With the methodology now available, OPPT initiated the next series of steps to develop the concept of a working committee and solicit support and participation from federal and state agencies and organizations in the private sector to establish a joint committee to develop the exposure guideline levels. The AEGL Committee was formed and first met in June, 1996.
Advantages of the FACA Committee Approach
The advantages of establishing a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Committee to develop short-term exposure guideline levels for hazardous substances include:
- Represents a major pooling of resources from the public sector (federal and state agencies) and the private sector (academic, non-profit organizations, and private industry). This provides greater scientific validity of the exposure guideline levels developed as a result of greater resources for more comprehensive data gathering and the utilization of a broader base of scientific knowledge and expertise.
- Represents a significant cross-section of scientists in toxicology and related fields from both the public and private sectors. This will foster consensus among the entire scientific community.
- Results in the establishment of national, standardized acute exposure guideline levels for all federal and state agencies in the public sector and all private companies and non-profit organizations in the private sector. This will prevent individual federal and state agencies and private industry from developing their own individual exposure guideline levels, which would result in the publication and use of different values and cause major confusion and controversy among regulatory agencies, private industry and confusion and concern among the general public.
- Results in greater efficiency and greater productivity in the development of exposure guideline levels. This approach eliminates duplication of effort and, through the use of pooled financial and staff resources and the overlap of priority lists of chemicals from various agencies and organizations, substantially reduces the cost of developing the exposure guideline levels per chemical per agency or entity.
- Fosters acceptance of the exposure guideline levels by all participating agencies and organizations in the public and private sectors, since they are both the creators and users of the exposure guideline levels. Also, fosters confidence among the general public with the concurrence and publication of the values by NAS.