EPA Picks Siloxanes For Assessment

Two methylsiloxanes are among 15 chemicals for which EPA will begin detailed hazard assessments during the next three years, the agency’s Office of Research & Development announced last week. In selecting decamethyl­cyclopentasiloxane (D5) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), EPA cites the high potential of these chemicals to affect public health and their widespread use. Both are used in personal care products. Appraisals of D5, D4, isopropyl alcohol, and chlorobenzene, among other chemicals, will begin in 2013 as part of EPA’s assessment program called the Integrated Risk Information System. The agency says it will start assessment of ethylene dichloride, mercury, and methyl mercury in 2014. Meanwhile, EPA is putting assessment of bisphenol A on hold while it waits for results of analyses of this substance from FDA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Also, the agency is scrapping plans to expand existing assessments of refractory ceramic fibers and the banned pesticide mirex “because they are no longer priorities for EPA.” The agency is withdrawing plans to assess alkylates, a class of chemicals found in gasoline, but would consider scrutiny of individual alkylates in the future.