EPA Research Partner Support Story: Evaluating chemicals for health effects
Partners: California Environmental Protection Agency’s (CalEPA) Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
Challenge: Evaluating chemicals for health effects using data from new approach methods
Resource: New technologies, models, tools, data and other chemical information
Project Period: 2015 – Present
CalEPA’s DTSC and OEHHA are collaborating through a Memorandum of Understanding with EPA ORD to use New Approach Methods (NAMs) developed by our scientists to evaluate the potential health effects of chemicals. CA DTSC has been using these ORD data and models to inform risk assessments for certain pesticides. OEHAA has been using high-throughput screening data and exposure information generated by ORD to evaluate chemicals used in consumer products and found in drinking water. This data is publicly available on the Computational Toxicology (CompTox) Chemicals Dashboard and the Chemical Exposure Knowledgebase.
“California benefits significantly from our partnership with EPA ORD. We use data to provide valuable insight into how chemicals may cause toxicity, and we use their exposure modeling and monitoring for various state efforts including our work on safer consumer products. EPA ORD resources are helping us to make more informed decisions about the potential health effects of chemicals.” – CalEPA former Secretary Matthew Rodriquez
Specifically, DTSC is using ORD high-throughput chemical data in a Risk Characterization Document which is evaluating the risk to human health resulting from inhalation of the fumigant allyl isothiocyanate (AITC). The risk assessment process for AITC was initiated in 2018 due to its proposed use and based on evidence that it may cause reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity, and oncogenicity in animal studies. The risk assessment document was presented during a public meeting and finalized in April 2022.
In 2020, CalEPA’s OEHHA used high-throughput screening (HTS) data from ORD to examine mechanisms of action of synthetic food dyes and included the data in a risk assessment. Using the data, they developed an approach to examining potential mechanisms of these synthetic food dyes. In 2021, OEHHA also used ORD high-throughput data on Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOAs) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) in drinking water. This data is used in the Public Health Goal (PHG) technical support documents which provide information on health effects from contaminants in California drinking water. PHGs published by OEHHA are used to establish primary drinking water standards. OEHHA also used high-throughput screening data to evaluate the potential carcinogenicity of acetaminophen, gentian violet and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS). This data is used in a Proposition 65 which requires the publication of a list of chemicals “known to the state” to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. The Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) advises and assists OEHHA and adds chemicals to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals that cause cancer.
This collaboration is ongoing and the team is currently working on a research project focused on evaluating potential health and environmental effects of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or quats). Quats are a group of chemicals used for a variety of purposes, including as preservatives, surfactants, antistatic agents and as active ingredients for disinfectants and sanitizers. Quats have been shown to be highly effective at killing bacteria, fungi and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and are found in many common disinfectant products. In addition, ORD is providing a series of training webinars for DTSC staff on various computational toxicology and exposure online resources.