I would comment just now only on the use of RTECS.  I’ve not referred to it since before it went behind a pay wall, but I did have occasion to do so in the 1970s and 1980s. It was also specifically addressed by professors in my graduate instruction at the University of Cincinnati (Kettering Laboratory) in the mid-1970s. 

One of the basic issues with RTECS is that it uncritically includes ANY paper listing ANY toxic effect.  Some of those papers are from the 1920s and earlier and use methods we would no consider completely inappropriate.  As I recall, common table salt (NaCl) is listed in RTECS, or it was when NIOSH was maintaining it. There is also a certain amount of duplication there.

I would never classify a substance as “toxic” solely on the basis of it being listed in RTECS.  I also advise that individual papers referenced in RTECS be checked, or at least some of them, before coming to such a conclusion.

Peter Zavon, MS, CIH
Penfield, NY

PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com

Listers,

I wish to assess the veracity of the statement:  “There are many tens of thousands of chemicals in use, but only a small percentage have been tested for toxicity. "

Some numbers:  The National Toxicology Program (NTP) states (in 2012) “More than 80,000 chemicals are registered for use in the United States.:  (National Toxicology Program | HHS | Catalog of Environmental Programs 2012 (epa.gov)), and that about 2000 more are introduced each year.   The American Chemistry Council challenges this number and says it should be closer to 38,304 due to duplication and inclusion of chemicals no longer being used. (Debunking the Myths: Are there really 84,000 chemicals? (chemicalsafetyfacts.org))  Further they suggest that the EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) is a better measure and that lists “only” 8707 chemicals.

With regard to “toxicity” the IARC has listed 121 chemicals as known carcinogens (although this, of course, is not the only form of “toxicity” that affect humans.)   RTECS (What is the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances? - Definition from Safeopedia ) tallies 150,000 chemicals in the list formerly known as the “Toxic Substances List”.  Their methodology suggests that some “toxicity” testing has occurred  the chemical on this list but there is no connection to the NTP list.

Using these numbers in various combinations, one could conclude that the phrase “small percentage” is the original quote above is “pretty fair” or “entirely unfair”.   Complex situations often should not be reduced to a single statement and, at the very least, if the original quote is accurate it should be accompanied by some explanations.

I would welcome from the group some insights about a “fair” statement about “chemical exposure” and the degree to which we have determined the toxicity within that group.

I will end with Monona’s title from her book:  Pick Your Poison: How Our Mad Dash to Chemical Utopia is Making Lab Rats of Us All. 

Dave

David C. Finster
Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry
Wittenberg University

--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas