Report lists agents and exposures that may lead to cancer

Welding can expose workers to
toxic fumes and particulate matter.

IARC listing prioritizes substances for evaluating carcinogenic risks

An advisory group to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has published a report recommending and prioritizing chemicals, complex mixtures, occupational exposures, physical agents, biological agents, and lifestyle factors for IARC Monographs during 2015-2019.

IARC is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, and government agencies across the globe use its monographs as scientific support for their actions to prevent exposure to potential carcinogens.

These monographs identify and evaluate environmental factors that can increase carcinogenic risks to humans.

The report lists more than 50 recommended agents and exposures, and among those listed as high priority for the upcoming years are bisphenol A, 1-bromopropane, shiftwork, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, welding and welding fumes, and occupational exposure to pesticides.

Source: OH&S online

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Flame retardant substitutes analyzed by EPA

Agency looks into alternatives for flame
retardants - but are they safer?

The Environmental Protection Agency has released two alternatives assessments to help companies that want to choose chemicals to substitute for bisphenol A in thermal paper and decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) as a fire retardant for plastic.

The goal of both analyses is to provide information about potential health and environmental hazards the chemicals and possible substitutes pose, the agency said.

The assessments should help companies that are looking for alternatives make choices and reduce their risk of having to repeat the process because an initially selected alternative doesn't work, the EPA said.

The documents also may help states or other regulators examining information a company has submitted in its own alternatives analysis. Some states, such as California, are requiring these types of analyses.

The EPA's Design for the Environment program assembled diverse parties who brought different information, expertise and perspectives to each analysis.

DecaBDE

For decaBDE, these participants included chemical, aerospace, automotive, electronics and textile manufacturers; the International Association of Fire Chiefs; environmental health organizations; recycling companies; and state and local government officials.

The decaBDE analysis provided information for 29 chemicals and chemical mixtures.

“Chemicals were selected for evaluation based on their potential as substitutes for decaBDE, not because they are expected to be safer than decaBDE,” the EPA said.

The 901-page analysis provided detailed information that showed trade-offs.

For example, decaBDE scored low for genotoxicity, moderate for carcinogenicity, high for developmental toxicity and very high for persistence.

Companies making flame-retardant products want chemicals that don't degrade so that the protection continues throughout a product's lifetime, the EPA said. Persistence in the environment, however, can pose a concern.

Some of the alternatives were readily biodegradable but toxic to the aquatic environment, the EPA said.

Bisphenol A

A minor use of bisphenol A is to help make paper receipts such as grocery receipts without carbon paper. The analysis said, however, that this particular use could result in higher exposure than some other BPA applications would.

The partnership that examined alternatives to bisphenol A in thermal paper included paper manufacturers, companies making equipment for thermal paper, chemical manufacturers, retailers, trade associations, scientific experts, environmental health organizations and international governmental organizations.

The 519-page analysis of bisphenol A examined 19 possible alternatives.

“No clearly safer alternatives to BPA were identified in this report—most alternatives have moderate or high hazard designations for human health or aquatic toxicity endpoints,” the analysis said.

The partnership found that three of the 20 chemicals (BPA and the 19 alternatives) scored low or very low in their potential to persist in the environment, and 11 had high or very high persistence values.

Two had a high potential to bioaccumulate.

U.S. manufacturers of decaBDE are phasing that chemical out of production under a voluntary agreement the EPA announced in 2009.

By contrast, bisphenol A remains a high production volume chemical, produced at an estimated volume of 2.4 billion pounds in 2007, the EPA's analysis said. It had an estimated value of almost $2 billion in 2010, the agency said.

However, in 2010 the EPA issued an action plan for bisphenol A. That plan said bisphenol A is a reproductive, developmental and systemic toxicant in animal studies and is weakly estrogenic.

The decaBDE and bisphenol A analyses are available here.

Source: Bloomberg News

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Receipts as an occupational hazard

BPA or chemical alternatives can
leach from thermal sales receipts.

Workers handling a lot of paper receipts may be exposed to endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A (BPA) or its structurally related alternative BPS.

Recent research and growing awareness about the possible harmful effects of BPA exposure have pushed many manufacturers to produce BPA-free products.

But researchers caution that the typical replacement BPS may pose a similar exposure threat.

In a recent study, researchers found that paper products with a BPA alternative could expose workers to just as many chemical compounds as before and that toxicology research into the BPA alternative is urgently needed.

Sales receipts can be a big source of exposure to BPA because manufacturers use it to help develop ink. Workers and clients handling the receipts can readily absorb BPA through the skin, experts say.

However, studies (mostly on animals) have shown that BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can cause many health problems, including obesity and cancer.

The BPA alternative BPS has similar endocrine-disrupting functions, the researchers warn.

Source: Chemical & Engineering News

Air cleaners for airborne pollutants

Occupational health and safety hazards can lurk almost anywhere - not only on paper receipts, but also in the very air we breathe.

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Cashiers may be at higher risk of BPA exposure

Study to examine BPA
exposure in cashiers.

A lot of people rely on their part-time or full-time jobs as cashiers in stores, supermarkets or other types of businesses to make a living or supplement their income - but experts are worried that they could be exposed to high levels of a potentially toxic chemical.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences want to know if the high levels of bisphenol A, or BPA for short, on the slick receipt paper that many cashiers handle on a daily basis should be a reason of concern.

They are asking cashiers to volunteer to have blood and urine samples to be taken for the study.

What is BPA?

BPA is a common ingredient in durable plastics, like those used to make hard plastic water bottles and to line food cans. Recently, reports have been published about experts expressing concerns that BPA exposure might be much higher than previously thought.

There is some conflicting evidence that BPA can cause developmental damage in children and reproductive problems in adults, but more research is needed.

Some types of thermal paper used in cash registers are coated with BPA, and the chemical easily rubs off onto your fingers when you touch them.

In their new study, the NIEHS team will measure levels of BPA in the blood and urine of volunteer cashiers, said Stavros Garantziotis, who is directing the research.

Testing BPA levels before and after a cashier's shift will show how much BPA was absorbed into a cashier's body while he or she was working.

While there are some alternative paper sources using such substances as bisphenol S, not much is known about the effects of these chemicals, either, the experts warned.

Source: News Observer

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