Chemicals

February 20, 2003

 

VCM, Formaldehyde in Air, Groundwater Pose Cancer Risks

Keywords: Chemicals Government Water 

Japan's Ministry of the Environment has announced the results of initial environmental risk assessments of chemical substances. The assessments were conducted on substances thought to be the top government priorities in chemical risk management. The ministry implemented these trial carcinogenic risk evaluations as a part of its initial health risk assessments.

Quantitative assessments of the carcinogenic risks show that VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) and formaldehyde are potential high-risk substances that require further evaluation.

The report suggests that formaldehyde presents a large carcinogenic risk through exposure to inhalation of both indoor and outdoor ambient air, and VCM is also highly carcinogenic when ingested orally from groundwater and such.

The results of the qualitative risk assessments also identified five candidates for further quantitative evaluations: acrylonitrile, acetaldehyde, propylene oxide, 1,2dichloroethane and 1,3 dichloropropylene.



Posted: 2003/02/20 03:58:00 PM
Japanese version

 

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