Early Priority Setting Activities
Prior to publishing the proposed approach in December 2002 for the selection of the initial list of chemicals for Tier 1 screening, EPA conducted various activities which contributed to the development of the approach. EPA anticipates that it will modify its chemical selection approach for subsequent Tier 1 Screening lists based on experience gained from the results of testing chemicals on the initial list, the feasibility of incorporating different categories of chemicals (e.g., non-pesticide substances), additional pathways of exposure, and the availability of new priority setting tools (e.g., HTPS or QSAR models).
EDSTAC Priority Setting Workgroup (1996 - 1998)
The need for priority setting originated from recommendations made in 1998 by a Federal advisory committee, the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Committee (EDSTAC). EDSTAC formed a Priority Setting Workgroup that was charged to address the following tasks:
- Specify types of information that should be gathered and analyzed
to sort and prioritize chemical substances and mixtures for screening
- Develop criteria for evaluating the quality, adequacy, and reliability
of the information that will be used in sorting and prioritizing chemical
substances and mixtures for screening and testing;
- Develop criteria for sorting chemical substances and mixtures into
four possible next steps, including: (1) hold; screening and testing
not required at this time; (2) prioritize for Tier 1 Screening; (3)
go to Tier 2 Testing; or (4) go to hazard assessment;
- Develop criteria for setting priorities for Tier 1 Screening. These
criteria will address the relative order of priority in which chemical
substances that are sorted into this category will actually proceed
to Tier 1 Screening; and
- Suggest how information used for priority setting should be combined with screening and testing results to generate a "weight-of-evidence" determination for proceeding from screening to testing or from testing to hazard assessment.
EPA's Strawman Proposal (1998 - 1999)
EPA developed an initial "Strawman" proposal [PDF file, 27pp., 48KB, About PDF] for further defining and implementing a compartment-based system based on the framework and guiding principles recommended in the EDSTAC report. EPA held a public workshop to discuss the Strawman in January of 1999. A summary of the workshop is available. [PDF file, 26pp., 111KB, About PDF]
EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Priority Setting Database (1999 - 2001)
Beginning in 1999, EPA also developed version 2 of the Endocrine Disruptor Priority Setting Database (EDPSD v.2). EDPSD v.2 was designed to assist EPA in setting priorities for chemical selection. EPA held two public workshops that discussed EDPSD. Summaries of the January 1999 [PDF file, 26pp., 140KB, About PDF] and June 2000 [PDF file, 55pp., 111KB, About PDF] workshops are available.
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