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Should We Ban This Chemical?

December 7, 2022

 

While walking through a store the other day, I came across a “toxic” chemical for sale. From previous reading, I knew that it was responsible for a number of adverse events, such as death due to accidental inhalation, severe tissue damage after prolonged exposure to its solid form but serious burns from its gaseous form, and a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects from excessive ingestion. I also knew that this chemical is a major component of acid rain, contributes to soil erosion, leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals, contaminates electrical systems which often causes short-circuits, and decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes. It has also been found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.

The chemical? Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO). It is also known as dihydrogen oxide, hydrogen hydroxide, hydronium hydroxide, or simply hydric acid. Part of this chemical is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, which can mutate DNA, denature proteins, and disrupt cell membranes in our bodies. The atomic components of DHMO are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as sulfuric acid and nitroglycerine.

Some folks might wonder why this chemical has not been banned from sale already. Myself? I just walked on by. I normally do not spend money on this chemical since I have plenty already in my home.
However, as bad as this chemical can be made to sound, it actually is quite harmless when we are exposed to its safe level. In fact, DHMO is also known as water, that is di-hydrogen (H2) mono-oxide (O). It is essential for nearly all life on planet Earth, as all of us already know. But like any chemical, water can be toxic if you drink too much of it at one time, and of course, we all know that accidental inhalation of water, or skin contact with ice or steam can cause harm.

The media will often talk about chemicals in a way that makes them sound scary. And indeed some chemicals are quite toxic in small amounts and we should all be careful when we use chemicals around the house for cleaning or pest control, making sure that we follow the label and keep these products out of reach of our children. But a description of a chemical’s toxic effects, without an understanding the dose to which one might be exposed, is not helpful. A liter of botulinum toxin, the most toxic chemical known to humans, will kill most of the humans on planet Earth, yet we used this same chemical to treat wrinkles and migraine headaches in incredibly tiny doses. As toxicologists are fond of saying, it is the dose that makes the poison. Reciting a scary list of possible effects from a chemical exposure, without indicating what the exposure might be, is not good science or journalism.

So how might one go about and determine a level of chemical exposure? A good rule of thumb here is to take the smallest sugar granule you can see from a sugar packet. It weighs about 50 micro-grams. If you put this sugar grain into a liter of water it becomes about 50 parts per billion (or ppb). This is not a lot, but gives you a sense of a chemical level. Many chemicals are safe at this level. For a listing of safe levels of various chemicals see: https://iter.tera.org.

It is impossible to live in a world without chemicals. So be informed, and make sure you drink plenty of DHMO!

WEEL OEL

Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) are designed to safeguard the health of healthy workers during their careers. These limits are based on the assumption of repeated daily exposure throughout a working lifetime, typically averaged over an 8-hour workday. Their purpose is to prevent both immediate (acute) and long-term (chronic) health issues arising from workplace exposures. It’s important to note that OELs are not intended for the general public, which includes vulnerable groups like infants, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEELs) are health-based guidelines for chemical hazards in the workplace. These values represent air concentrations believed to protect the majority of workers from negative health effects resulting from occupational chemical exposure.

The WEEL Process
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The development of new or revision of existing WEELs is typically assigned to voluntarily designated subcommittees. A subcommittee usually comprises 3 – 4 members from the WEEL Committee. New WEELs are developed using the OARS-WEEL administrative standard operating procedure (SOP), while existing WEELs are usually revised every 10 years, unless the availability of significant new data which may impact the existing WEEL value compels the committee to make a revision sooner. The OARS-WEEL SOP contains procedures and guidelines governing conflicts of interest, draft document preparation, literature searches, draft document review, balloting process, post-ballot WEEL documentation quality assurance scientific review, and publication.

Once a subcommittee has prepared a draft WEEL document, a review of the draft is scheduled for the next available Committee meeting. The WEEL Committee members are expected to have reviewed all such drafts prior to the meeting. If no major changes are necessary to a draft, the attending Committee membership may, by a simple majority, approve the WEEL for balloting. Alternatively, the Committee may direct the subcommittee to revise the WEEL and present it for further discussion at a future meeting. If a ballot is not approved by a two-thirds majority of non-abstaining Committee members, it is discussed at the next Committee meeting to determine the appropriate course of action. Once the WEEL is approved by a two-thirds majority of non-abstaining Committee members, copies of ballot comments are forwarded to the designated subcommittee and all substantive comments must be addressed in the final draft. If resolution of a substantive comment results in a change to the WEEL value or a change in the basis for the value, the draft must be re-balloted.

Once all comments have been addressed on a successfully balloted draft, document formatting and editorial review are performed by TERA, before the draft WEEL document is made available for public comment (usually for a period of 30 days but may be extended if the need arises). After the public comment period has elapsed, comments are addressed by the subcommittee responsible for that specific draft, after which the WEEL documentation is submitted to Toxicology and Industrial Health (TIH), a peer-reviewed medical journal that covers research in the fields of occupational health and toxicology, for publication. A thorough review of the galley proof by the scientific content quality coordinator at TERA, and proofreaders and editors at TIH is the penultimate step before eventual publication of the WEEL documentation.

The WEEL Committee

The OARS-WEEL Committee is composed of volunteer experts specializing in the scientific determination of occupational exposure levels. This committee actively seeks a balanced representation of professionals from toxicology and industrial hygiene, drawing upon a diverse range of experience from industry, government, academia, and consulting. Importantly, each member contributes to the Committee based on their individual expertise and not as an official representative of their respective employer, organization, or agency.