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Table 51: Summary of oral reference health standards for benzo(a)pyrene, used by different international agencies or developed in the scientific literature
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| Jurisdiction | Acceptable risk level |
Guideline value |
Risk-specific dose1 (μg/kg bw/day) |
Cancer slope factor (per mg/kg bw/day) |
Key study2 |
Critical effects2 |
Basis of value2 |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand |
10–5 |
|
0.0014 |
7.3 |
US EPA (1994) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
US EPA (1994) |
MfE (1997; 1999) |
New Zealand drinking water |
10–5 |
0.07 |
0.022 |
0.46 |
Not stated |
Not stated |
WHO (2003) |
MoH (2005) |
WHO drinking water |
10–5 |
|
0.022 |
0.46 |
Clement Associates (1990) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Two-stage birth–death mutation model to incorporate the partial lifetime exposure, without corrections for differences in bodyweight |
WHO (1998b, 2003) |
UK |
10–5 |
|
0.02 |
– |
Neal and Rigdon (1967) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
WHO (1996) |
DEFRA and EA (2002) |
The Netherlands – current |
10–4 |
|
2 |
– |
Not stated |
Not stated |
Vermeire (1993) |
Baars et al (2001) |
The Netherlands – proposed3 |
10–4 |
|
0.5 |
– |
Culp et al (1998), Kroese et al (2001) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice, rats |
Kroese et al (2001) |
Baars et al (2001) |
US |
10–6 |
|
0.00014 |
7.3 |
Neal and Rigdon (1967), Brune et al (1981) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Geometric mean of four slope factors obtained by differing modelling procedures, using the two studies. Animal to human bodyweight to the 2/3 power was applied |
US EPA (1994) |
California |
10–6 |
|
0.00011 |
9.03 |
Neal and Rigdon (1967) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Risk estimate determined from Global86 computer model. Animal to human bodyweight to the ¾ power was applied |
CalEPA (1997) |
Canada |
10–6 |
|
0.000435 |
2.3 |
Neal and Rigdon (1967) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
“Robust linear extrapolation with a surface area correction” |
CCME (2008) |
Norwegian Food Control Authority |
10–6 |
|
0.00057 |
|
Culp et al (1998) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Linear extrapolation from BMD25 (the dose that results in tumour incidence in 25% of animals), and interspecies scaling factor of bodyweight to the ¾ power |
EC (2002) |
US4 |
10–6 |
|
0.00083 |
1.2 |
Culp et al (1998) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
US EPA standard method – low-dose linear extrapolation |
Gaylor et al (2000) |
The Netherlands4 |
10–6 |
|
0.005 |
– |
Culp et al (1998), Kroese et al (2001) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
“Virtually safe dose” – linear extrapolation from lowest dose level associated with a significant increased tumour response for an acceptable increased risk level of 1 in a million |
Kroese et al (2001) |
Australia4 |
|
|
0.080 |
|
Culp et al (1998) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Modified benchmark dose (NHMRC, 1999) – maximum likelihood estimates of the dose level giving rise to an excess tumour incidence of 5% (BMD05, as determined from a variety of models), divided by a factor of 4,500 to account for various uncertainties (5 for interspecies extrapolation, 10 for intraspecies variability, 2 for database (in)adequacy, 9 for malignancy, 5 for genotoxicity) |
Fitzgerald et al (2004) |
1 Where the acceptable risk level for a given jurisdiction is not 10–5, the risk-specific dose for a risk of 10–5 is shown in square brackets.
2 As reported in the references cited in the reference column.
3 This value is yet to be officially adopted.
4 These are values developed in the scientific literature, as opposed to values developed for regulatory purposes.
Table 52: Summary of oral reference health standards for benzo(a)pyrene in a PAH mixture, used by different international agencies or developed in the scientific literature
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| Jurisdiction | Acceptable risk level |
Risk-specific dose1 (μg/kg bw/day |
Cancer slope factor (per mg/kg bw/day) |
Key study2 |
Critical effects2 |
Basis of value2 |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) |
|
3 |
BMDL10 = 0.1 mg/kg bw/day |
Culp et al (1998) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Eight different statistical models were fitted to the combined data for two coal tar mixtures – BMDL10 ranged from 0.1 to 0.23 mg BaP/kg bw/day, with the lower end of this range used in the evaluation by JECFA |
FAO/WHO (2006b) |
EU Scientific committee on food (SCF) |
10–6 |
0.00006–0.0005 |
– |
Alexander Knutsen (2001), Kroese et al (2001) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice |
Application of carcinogenic potency factor of 10 to “virtually safe doses” established for BaP by Kroese et al (2001) (0.5 ng/kg bw/day), and Alexander and Knutsen (2001) (0.06 ng/kg bw/day), to account for the carcinogenic potency of a mixture of PAHs Stated to be in agreement with that determined by Schneider et al (2002) Note: the SCF expressed reservations regarding the use of mathematical modelling for substances that are genotoxic and carcinogenic and concluded that exposures from food should be as low as practically achievable |
EC (2002) |
Germany4 |
10–6 |
0.00009 |
11.5 |
Culp et al (1998) |
Fore-stomach tumours – mice, rats arising from exposure to coal tar |
Arithmetic mean of four estimates of slope factors of the potency of two coal tar mixtures determined using linearised multi-stage modelling and low-dose linear model using the dose estimated to produce an excess tumour incidence of 10% as the point of departure and accounting for bodyweight adjustment by caloric demand – allometric scaling |
Schneider et al (2002) |
1 Where the acceptable risk level for a given jurisdiction is not 10–5, the risk-specific dose for a risk of 10–5 is shown in square brackets.
2 As reported in the reference cited in the reference column.
3 Derived in the current study from the BMDL10 of 0.1 mg/kg bw/day determined by FAO/WHO (2006a; 2006b), using low-dose linear extrapolation (slope factor = 0.1/BMDL10) of US EPA (2005) and cross-species scaling to the ¾ power, ie, slope factor (humans) = 10–5 x (mouse slope factor x (70/0.035)1 – 0.75).
4 These are values developed in the scientific literature, as opposed to values developed for regulatory purposes.