title: An approach for the development of emergency response levels for halogenated hydrocarbons.
abstract: Emergency exposure guidance levels have been developed for many halogenated hydrocarbons. These can be employed in the event of accidental releases or terrorist actions. However, for a chemical release involving a substance without existing guidance levels, there is a need to be able to develop one rapidly. Two data sources are available, the Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGL) and Emergency Response Guideline Levels (ERPG). The subset of halogenated hydrocarbons and related substances included in these data sources represent 30 chemicals and 41 risk assessments. The ratios for serious toxicity/annoyance level and for potential lethality/serious toxicity were calculated. On reviewing the results, the geometric means provided the best basis for extrapolation. When the geometric means of the ratios of ERPG-3/ERPG-2 and AEGL-3/AEGL-2 were calculated their combined mean was 4.40. The geometric standard deviation for the combined data set was 2.00 suggesting the data were homogeneous. Likewise, calculation of the geometric means for ERPG-2/1 and AEGL-2/1 the combined ratio was 3.93. The geometric standard deviation for the combined set was 1.46, again suggesting homogeneity of the data. The review described in this paper confirmed that the time default "n" values of 3 and 1 (ten Berge et al., 1986) are appropriate for extrapolation to shorter and longer exposure times, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Risk Assessment and Toxicology Services, 6900 Corral Gate Lane, Sarasota, FL 34241, USA. Electronic address: George.rusch9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: George M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rusch
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release; D051337:Chemical Terrorism; D002959:Civil Defense / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004630:Emergencies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011634:Public Health / Q000592:standards; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated
keywords: Default guideline levels; Emergency guideline levels; Emergency response; Guideline levels; Halogenated hydrocarbons