|
|
TERA News
October 13, 1998
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jacqueline
Patterson
TERA
513-521-7426
ITER
Independent Database of Human Health Risk Values Expands
to Address Critical Need
Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) and Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) are pleased to announce the expansion of the International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) database in September 1998. The database, found on the Internet at http://www.tera.org/iter, is the only on-line source of compiled risk values that provides side-by-side comparisons of risk values from federal and international agencies, as well as those developed by independent parties. It provides access to the scientific justification for each agency’s values, and an explanation of how the values were derived and for any differences among values from the different sources. TERA and CTC have worked to expand ITER because it supports their respective missions to protect public health and develop leading edge technologies. The two organizations recognize a critical need for risk assessors and environmental managers world-wide to have access to the most current and reliable risk values available.
Risk assessors and managers may find it difficult to interpret and compare risk values developed by different organizations, since each organization develops risk values using its own methods and practices. Risk values developed by some organizations may not be readily available, because they are found only in lengthy documents not easily obtained or available on the Internet. Existing risk assessment values need updating to incorporate new toxicologic and mechanistic data, and to reflect more current risk assessment methods. The ITER database and related peer-review program address these issues by making values easily accessible, facilitating side-by-side comparisons, and by providing a venue for independent peer review of new assessments.
ITER was developed by TERA; a non-profit organization dedicated to the best use of toxicity data for risk assessment, and has been expanded and revised through a cooperative venture with CTC, another non-profit organization which develops and transfers leading edge technologies to help the U.S. be more competitive in the world market place. A pilot version with 39 chemicals has been available since early 1996. With this expansion, risk values for over 100 chemicals that are environmental pollutants are included. Easily accessible risk values are also necessary for pollution prevention efforts, by facilitating the identification of the least environmentally damaging chemical for a given industrial process. This expansion was funded through the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence (NDCEE) operated by CTC.
ITER currently contains risk values from several agencies; including ATSDR’s minimal risk levels (MRLs), EPA’s risk values from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), and Health Canada’s risk values for Priority Substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Independently derived values, which have undergone an independent peer review, are also included and can only be found on ITER. All of these values are presented in a tabular format for ease of comparison and the reasons for differences among the organizations’ values are explained. Independently derived values for methylmercury and acrylonitrile are currently available and additional values for Telone II (1,3-dichloropropene) and chromium VI will be available later this year. These independent values and their supporting documentation have undergone a rigorous peer review through TERA’s peer review program which provides an independent, balanced and scientifically-based peer review. More information about the peer review program is available at http://www.tera.org/peer.
Future plans for the database include adding values from additional organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Programme on Chemical Safety, values from the Dutch RIVM, and possibly others. It is anticipated that all of EPA’s IRIS values (over 500 chemicals) will be on the ITER database by the end of 1998
For more information about the scientific aspects of the database or how to become a partner in this effort, contact Jacqueline Patterson at patterson@tera.org or (513) 521-7426, or Chuck Tomljanovic (CTC) at chuck-t@ctc.com or (814) 269-6834.
Last updated: 01/22/2008