title: How accurate are the European Union's classifications of chemical substances.
abstract: The European Commission has decided on harmonized classifications for a large number of individual chemicals according to its own directive for classification and labeling of dangerous substances. We have compared the harmonized classifications for acute oral toxicity to the acute oral toxicity data available in the RTECS database. Of the 992 substances eligible for this comparison, 15% were assigned a too low danger class and 8% a too high danger class according to the RTECS data. Due to insufficient transparency-scientific documentations of the classification decisions are not available-the causes of this discrepancy can only be hypothesized. We propose that the scientific motivations of future classifications be published and that the apparent over- and underclassifications in the present system be either explained or rectified, according to what are the facts in the matter.
authors.affiliation: Philosophy Unit, Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 78B, S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden. cr@infra.kth.se
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rudén
authors.forename: Sven Ove
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Hansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002621:Chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000592:standards*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005062:European Union; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000145:classification* / Q000633:toxicity; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051381:Rats; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014116:Toxicology / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances