Hazard Rating of Substances Systems Developed by Niosh’s Rtecs-Nohs and Usepa
This research study attempts to evaluate the hazard rating of substances systems developed by NIOSH’s (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) RTECS-NOHS (Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances – National Occupational Hazards Survey) and USEPA (United States Environmental...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
2006
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11094/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11094/1/Hazard%20rating%20of%20substances%20systems%20developed%20by%20NIOSH%27s%20RTECS-NOHS%20and%20USEPA%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
| Summary: | This research study attempts to evaluate the hazard rating of substances systems developed by NIOSH’s (National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health) RTECS-NOHS (Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances – National Occupational
Hazards Survey) and USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Evaluation on rating methodologies and
parameters used by both NIOSH and USEPA’s systems reviewed that both systems aim at ranking common industrial organic
compounds used or released into the atmosphere with special focus on chemical toxicological health effects. The NIOSH’s
RTECS-NOHS system solely emphasizes on health risks depending on chemical toxicological effects pertaining to eight health
effect endpoints, whilst USEPA’s system considers toxicological effects, occupational standards, chemical production rate,
fraction of production loss and chemical’s volatility characteristics. It is also found that NIOSH’s system allows users great
flexibility in defining toxicological priorities by assigning a multiplier or/and adding in the constants. The scoring system
developed by USEPA for the individual parameters considered in the priority ranking range from zero to five without providing
flexibility for users in defining toxicological priorities or assigning multipliers. It is also found that certain modifications must
be made to account for fundamental differences between worker and population exposures for application purposes. |
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