Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) is a series of monographs prepared by the
International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) and published by the
World Health Organization (WHO). They aim to give "comprehensive data from scientific sources for the establishment of safety standards and regulations."
[.] More than 230 EHCs have been published.
Many EHCs cover the properties of individual chemicals or of groups of related chemicals (see, e.g., EHC 65: Butanols). Since 1998, this role has mostly been taken over by the related
Concise International Chemical Assessment Document Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents (CICADs) are published by the World Health Organization within the framework of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). They describe the toxicological properties of chemical compoun ...
s (CICADs), also prepared by the IPCS and published by the WHO. EHCs can also cover non-chemical (potential) hazards (see, e.g., EHC 35: Extremely low frequency (ELF) fields) and methodology (see, e.g., EHC 144: Aged Population, principles for evaluating the effects of chemicals).
[.]
EHCs are based on a search of the scientific literature, and do not include new experimentation (unlike, e.g.,
SIDS
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usual ...
or
EU-RARs) although they may contain recommendations for further studies. A typical monograph on a chemical substance would include:
*the
physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
and
chemical properties of the substance and
analytical methods Analytical technique is a method used to determine a chemical or physical property of a chemical substance, chemical element, or mixture. There is a wide variety of techniques used for analysis, from simple weighing to advanced techniques using high ...
for determining
concentrations and
exposure;
*sources of environmental and industrial exposure and
environmental transport
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...
;
*
chemobiokinetics and
metabolism including
absorption
Absorption may refer to:
Chemistry and biology
* Absorption (biology), digestion
**Absorption (small intestine)
*Absorption (chemistry), diffusion of particles of gas or liquid into liquid or solid materials
*Absorption (skin), a route by which ...
,
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
,
transformation
Transformation may refer to:
Science and mathematics
In biology and medicine
* Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching
* Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous
* Trans ...
and
elimination;
*short- and long-term effects on animals, including
carcinogenicity,
mutagenicity, and
teratogenicity;
*an evaluation of risks for human health and of the effects on the environment.
Monographs do not contain specific guidelines for regulations (although they might contain examples of national exposure limits, for example), and they do not constitute an official position of the WHO or of any of the other organizations participating in the IPCS.
References
{{reflist
External links
List of Environmental Health Criteria monographs
Chemical safety