Exploring the utility of the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) as a screening approach for complex substances

The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) has been applied to assess chemical safety for use, particularly in the food safety area. Although the TTC was developed for application to an individual chemical structure, more recently this concept has been suggested for the assessment of combined exposures to multiple chemicals. This study evaluated the potential for applying the TTC to a specific type of co-exposure, that of a complex substance of variable composition which contains multiple constituents, following the World Health Organization/International Programme on Chemical Safety framework for risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals. The results indicated that the TTC threshold was lower (i.e., more conservative) than regulatory thresholds derived for the same substance or even its most toxic constituent, providing assurance that the TTC could meet the requirements for a conservative screening process. This case study indicates that the TTC concept can be a useful tool to screen for potential risks from complex substances, with the consideration of additional aspects such as variability in chemical constituents and their relative proportions within the substance.

Improving the Environmental Risk Assessment of Substances of Unknown or Variable Composition, Complex Reaction Products, or Biological Materials

Substances of unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products, or biological materials (UVCBs) pose unique risk assessment challenges to regulators and to product registrants. These substances can contain many constituents, sometimes partially unknown and/or variable, depending on fluctuations in their source material and/or manufacturing process. International regulatory agencies have highlighted the difficulties in characterizing UVCBs and assessing their toxicity and environmental fate. Several industrial sectors have attempted to address these issues by developing frameworks and characterization methods. Based on the output of a 2016 workshop, this critical review examines current practices for UVCB risk assessment and reveals a need for a multipronged and transparent approach integrating whole-substance and constituent-based information. In silico tools or empirical measurements can provide information on discrete and/or blocks of UVCB constituents with similar hazard properties. Read-across and/or whole-substance toxicity and fate testing using adapted emerging methods can provide whole-substance information. Continued collaboration of stakeholders representing government, industry, and academia will facilitate the development of practical testing strategies and guidelines for addressing regulatory requirements for UVCBs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:2097-2108. © 2020 Health and Environmental Sciences Institute. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Assessing the mammalian toxicity of high-boiling petroleum substances under the rubric of the HPV program

In 1998, the US EPA announced the HPV Challenge Program, a voluntary chemical data collection effort. The Petroleum HPV Testing Group (PHPVTG(1)) volunteered to provide data on approximately 110 high boiling petroleum substances (HBPS), i.e. substances with final boiling points ≥ approximately 650°F (343°C). These HBPS are substances of unknown and variable composition (UVCBs) that are composed of numerous individual constituents. Toxicity studies have shown that some HBPS can produce systemic (repeat-dose) and developmental effects, and some are mutagenic under in vitro conditions. The papers in this supplement show that these effects are related to the profiles of aromatic constituents in these substances. Further, it is shown that the effects on selected repeat-dose and developmental toxicity endpoints and mutagenic activity in bacterial assays can be predicted from compositional information using models based on the aromatic-ring class profile, "ARC profile" as defined by gas chromatographic separation of the DMSO-soluble fraction of the starting materials. This chromatographic method and the predictive models provide an efficient means of characterizing for screening purposes the potential for repeat-dose, developmental effects and bacterial mutagenicity of HBPS and can reduce the number of animal tests that would be required if these tests were conducted on all 110 HBPS.