United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Land Remediation and Technology Division, Environmental Decision Analytics Branch, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2023 Nov;20(11):545-562. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2023.2242896. Epub 2023 Sep 14.
Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is required to determine whether a new chemical substance poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment before the chemical is manufactured in or imported into the United States. This manuscript provides a review of the process used to evaluate the risk associated with a chemical based on the scenarios and models used in the evaluation. Specifically, the Generic Scenarios and Emission Scenario Documents developed by the USEPA were reviewed, along with background documentation prepared by USEPA to identify the core elements of the environmental release and occupational exposure scenarios used to assess the risk of the chemical being evaluated. Additionally, this contribution provides an overview of methods used to model occupational exposures and environmental releases as part of the chemical evaluation process used in other jurisdictions, along with work being performed to improve these models. Finally, the alternative methods to evaluate occupational exposures and environmental releases that may be used as part of the decision-making process regarding a chemical are identified. The contribution provides a path forward for reducing the time required and improving the chemical evaluation of the unreasonable risk determination regarding the manufacture or import of a chemical.
根据《有毒物质控制法》（TSCA），美国环境保护署（USEPA）必须在新化学物质在美国境内制造或进口之前，确定该化学物质是否对人类健康或环境构成不合理风险。本文稿回顾了基于评估中使用的情景和模型来评估与化学物质相关风险所采用的过程。具体而言，审查了美国环保署制定的通用情景和排放情景文件，以及美国环保署为确定用于评估所评估化学物质风险的环境释放和职业暴露情景的核心要素而编写的背景文件。此外，本文还概述了在其他司法管辖区用于化学评估过程的职业暴露和环境释放建模方法，以及为改进这些模型而开展的工作。最后，确定了可作为与化学物质有关的决策过程的一部分来评估职业暴露和环境释放的替代方法。本文为减少时间并改进关于制造或进口化学物质的不合理风险确定的化学评估提供了前进的道路。
