Information on Chemicals and their Effects

The following links catalogue some of the information developed by the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics for communities. Each site includes data, information and contacts for common chemicals and potential environmental hazards. Additional chemical information can be found here: http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/pollutants.html

• Community Air Screening How-to Manual
  OPPT's Community Community Air Screening How-to Manual makes air quality assessment tools more accessible to communities. The How-to Manual presents and explains a step-by-step process that a community can follow to form partnerships to access technical expertise, identify and inventory local sources of air pollutants, review pollutant sources to identify known hazards that may present a potential health risk to the community and set priorities and develop plans for improvement.
  
  
• EPA Asbestos Home Page
  Asbestos is a mineral fiber regulated under a special area of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). It has been determined that breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer.
  
  
• Endocrine Disruptors
  This web site provides information about the endocrine system and why certain chemicals can affect it, how the EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program was developed, and the current status of EPA's implementation activities.
  
  
• High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Program
  This voluntary program was designed to ensure that the American public has access to basic health and environmental effects data for those chemicals which are produced in the highest volumes in the United States. The HPV Program Chemical List contains about 2,800 chemicals that have been manufactured in or imported into the United States in amounts equal to or greater than one million pounds per year.
  
  
• Lead Programs
  These pages are designed to give you access to information on all aspects of the Federal lead poisoning prevention program, with a special focus on the efforts within EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT).
  
  
• OPPT Chemical Fact Sheets and Support Documents
  Each fact sheet provides a brief summary of information on a chemical, including its identity, production and use, environmental fate, health and environmental effects, regulatory information, and places to contact for more information.
  
  
• Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants (PBTs)
  PBTs are toxic, long-lasting substances that can build up in the food chain to levels that are harmful to human and ecosystem health. The PBT Initiative seeks to develop and implement national action plans to reduce priority PBT pollutants, utilizing the full range of EPA tools.
  
  
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
  PCBs are mixtures of synthetic organic chemicals with the same basic chemical structure and similar physical properties ranging from oily liquids to waxy solids. PCBs have been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects. This site includes regulations, guidance, PCB waste handlers information, health effects of PCBs and general information.
  
  
• 8(e) TRIAGE Information Database
  This is a searchable, PC-based database of scientific studies on the health and environmental effects of toxic chemicals related to Section 8(e) of TSCA, which states that manufacturers, importers, and distributors of chemical substances and mixtures are required to inform EPA of studies that reasonably support the conclusion that the chemicals present a "substantial risk of injury" to human health or the environment. It provides users with information about these studies and serves as a pointer system to the complete studies.
  
  
• Email the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) hotline
  TSCA Assistance Information Service (202-554-1404) provides technical assistance and information about programs to chemical manufacturers, processors, users, storers, disposers, importers, exporters, and individuals concerning regulations under TSCA.
  
  
• Children's Chemical Evaluation Program
  Voluntary Childrens's Chemical Evaluation Program(VCCEP) is a voluntary testing program for chemicals with identified children's health concerns. EPA is asking companies which manufacture and/or import 23 chemicals which have been found in human tissues and the environment in various monitoring programs to volunteer to sponsor their evaluation in Tier 1 of a pilot of the VCCEP.