EPA Requests Comments on Draft Endocrine Screening Guidance for Chemicals
The Environmental Protection Agency is extending the comment period on its draft guidance document on endocrine screening for chemicals to February 3, 2011. Entities that could be potentially affected by the guidance include chemical, pesticide, and fertilizer importers.
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(On November 4, 2010, EPA issued a notice announcing the availability of this draft document, titled, "Weight-of-Evidence Guidance Document: Evaluating Results of EDSP Tier 1 Screening to Identify Candidate Chemicals for Tier 2 Testing" under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), for public review and asked for comments by January 3, 2011. However, EPA received a request for an extension and therefore extended the comment period.)
Guidance Sets Forth General Principles, Criteria for Screening/Testing Chemicals
The purpose of the draft guidance is to set forth some of the general principles, criteria, and considerations EPA generally believes to be relevant using a weight-of-evidence WoE) approach to evaluate data submitted as part of EPA’s two-tiered paradigm for screening and testing chemicals for endocrine activity (i.e., estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormonal systems; E, A, and T) under the EDSP.
EPA states that this draft document provides a transparent scientific approach for broadly evaluating Tier 1 screening data to detect an interaction with E, A, and/ or T hormonal systems and determine if additional Tier 2 testing is necessary.
(According to EPA, the development of this guidance is in compliance with a directive from the House Appropriations Committee FY 2010 Report directing the EPA to develop and publish criteria by October 30, 2010, for evaluating results of Tier 1 screening and determining whether a chemical should undergo Tier 2 analysis.)
Potentially Affected Entities Include Pesticide Importers, Manufacturers
Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:
- Chemical manufacturers, importers and processors (NAICS code 325), e.g., persons who manufacture, import, or process chemical substances.
- Pesticide, fertilizer, and other agricultural chemical manufacturers (NAICS code 3253), e.g., persons who manufacture, import or process pesticide, fertilizer, and agricultural chemicals.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/27/10 news, 10122725, for previous BP summary announcing that EPA was extending the deadline on this draft guidance.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 11/17/10 news, 10111723, for BP summary of EPA announcing that it has identified a list of 134 chemicals that will be screened for their potential to disrupt the endocrine system. See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/13/10 news, 10121336, for BP summary of EPA extending the comment period on the screening list.)