Does industry take the susceptible subpopulation of asthmatic individuals into consideration when setting derived no-effect levels?

ABSTRACT: Asthma, a chronic respiratory disease, can be aggravated by exposure to certain chemical irritants. The objectives were first to investigate the extent to which experimental observations on asthmatic subjects are taken into consideration in connection with the registration process under the EU REACH regulation, and second, to determine whether asthmatics are provided adequate protection by the derived no-effect levels (DNELs) for acute inhalation exposure. We identified substances for which experimental data on the pulmonary functions of asthmatics exposed to chemicals under controlled conditions are available. The effect concentrations were then compared with DNELs and other guideline and limit values. As of April 2015, only 2.6% of 269 classified irritants had available experimental data

SUBMITTER: Johansson MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5089668 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature