Print | Need Larger Text? | Share

State of the Science Report for Dibromoethane

1,2-Dibromoethane

CAS No. 106-93-4

Figure 1: Structure of 1,2-dibromoethane

Introduction

Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) the Minister of Health may gather information, conduct investigations and evaluations, including screening assessments, relevant for the purpose of assessing whether a substance is entering or may enter the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.

Screening health assessments focus initially on conservative assessment of hazard or effect levels for critical endpoints and upper-bounding estimates of exposure, after consideration of all relevant identified information. Decisions based on the nature of the critical effects and margins between conservative effect levels and estimates of exposure take into account confidence in the completeness of the identified databases on both exposure and effects, within a screening context. Additional background information on screening health assessments conducted under this program is available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/contaminants/existsub/index_e.html.

1,2-Dibromoethane (Figure 1) was nominated for inclusion in the pilot phase for preparation of screening assessments under CEPA 1999 as a compound that, based on information available at the time of the compilation of the Domestic Substances List (DSL), is representative of substances on the DSL likely to be prioritized on the basis of greatest potential for exposure.

This draft State of the Science Report for a screening assessment and associated unpublished supporting working documentation were prepared by evaluators within the Existing Substances Division of Health Canada; the content of these documents was reviewed at several meetings of senior Divisional staff. The draft Report was subsequently externally reviewed for adequacy of data coverage and defensibility of the conclusions. The supporting working documentation is available upon request by e-mail from ExSD@hc-sc.gc.ca

Information identified as of September 2003 (effects) and March 2004 (exposure) was considered for inclusion in this Report. The critical information and considerations upon which this Report is based are summarized below. Additional data identified between these dates and the end of the external peer review period (March 2004) were also scoped and determined not to impact upon the conclusions presented here.