Site-specific consultation for a chemical mixture

Abstract

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) uses the weight of evidence methodology to evaluate interactions of chemical mixtures. In the process, toxicity, toxicokinetics, and toxicodynamics of chemical components of the mixture are carefully examined. Based on the evaluation, predictions are made that can be used in real-life situations at hazardous waste sites. In this paper, health outcomes were evaluated for a mixture of eight compounds that were found at a specific site. These eight chemicals were identified and possibly associated with human exposure. The health assessors could consider similar thought processes when evaluating chemical mixtures at hazardous waste sites.

The Weight of Scientific Evidence in Policy and Law

“…The ATSDR uses a WOE approach to evaluate the synergistic effects of chemical mixtures. 28 The ATSDR describes the objectives of and factors to consider in a WOE analysis in its Public Health Assessment Guidance Manual, without providing any details on how evidence is actually "weighed" or scaled. 29 "A weight-of-evidence analysis involves the balanced review and integration of relevant  PUBLIC HEALTH MATTERS  exposure, toxicologic, epidemiologic, medical, and health outcome data to help determine whether exposure to contaminant levels under site-specific conditions might result in harmful effects.…”