SAB Finalizes Review of IRIS Toxicology Report on Inorganic Arsenic

EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) requested the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to review the draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic. In November, the SAB finalized their review of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Inorganic Arsenic. Highlights from the SAB’s report includes:

• reconsider whether a reference dose for inorganic arsenic is scientifically supportable
• prioritize Type 2 over Type 1 diabetes in the analysis
• recommend EPA include more cohort studies with prenatal and early childhood exposure assessments of inorganic arsenic

As many know, arsenic is a regulated chemical in drinking water, with an MCL of 10 parts per billion (or 0.010 parts per million). By proposing the review to IRIS as part of the fourth cycle of the Six-Year Review of Drinking Water Standards, EPA ORD hopes to update its drinking water arsenic regulation. Included in the fourth Six-Year Review, EPA announced arsenic, along with eight other contaminants, are undergoing EPA’s health assessment process. The recent request for peer review means that EPA is in step four of the seven-step IRIS process.

Additional information, including the SAB report can be found on the EPA website.