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Chemicals & Health Report of the Panel on Chemicals and Health of the President's Science Advisory Committ73 September 1~ and Technology Policy affice • National Science Foundation Science TIMN 0141524

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FOREWORD A large and growing number of chemical substances are introduced into man's environment each year. To many of these substances man is involuntarily exposed. Some expusures represent identified and recognized hazards to his health and well being, but to a great extent our ability to understand the biological effects of chemical substances such as pesticides, food additives and therapeutic drugs has not kept pace with our technological ability to develop and use new substances. In May 1970, a panel of the President's Science Advisory Committee was established to review a broad set of issues concerning chemical substances and human health. This panel was a reflection of the initiative and concern of two previous Science Advisers, Drs. Lee A. DuBridge and Edward E. David, Jr. It was their belief that the time had come to take stock of the scope of the intrusion of chemical substances into man's environment, of the known or implied threats to human health which they represented, and of the degree of protection which regulatory processes could be reasonably expected to provide. The report of the panel is the product of almost two years of deliberation and contairis much useful information on the size and nature of both the risks and the benefits that are involved in the use of chemicals. The report was prepared by an outside advisory group. It has been reviewed by the Federal agencies most concerned with these matters. Many of its recommendations deal with administrative, resource, organizational and procedural matters. Implementation of such recommendations involves a weighing of broad policy questions that a technical group cannot adequately undertake. Several of the report's recommendations, however, have already been implemented. Others will quite likely be the source of continuing debate and study. I am releasing the report, therefore, in order that it may contribute to the state of public knowledge and deliberation on this difficult and complex subject. H/G(iyford Stever Director and The Science Adviser

41 President's Science Advisory Committee (1972) Edward E. David, Jr., Chairman Science Adviser to the President, and Director, Office of Science and Technology John D. Baldeschwieler, Vice-Chairman Deputy Director, Office of Science and Technology David Z. Beckler, Executive Of ficer Executive Assistant, Office of Science and Technology Luis W. Alvarez Lawrence-Berkeley Laboratory University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, California Solomon J. Buchsbaum Executive Director, Research Communication Sciences Division Bell Telephone Laboratories Hulmdel, New Jersey Theodore L. Cairns Director •Central Research Department E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Wilmington, Delaware James S. Coleman Department of Sociology University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois Lee A. DuBridge Laguna Hills, California Val L. Fitch Department of Physics Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Herbet Friedman Chief Scientist E. O. Hulburt Center for Space Research U. S. Naval Research Laboratory Washington, D. C. Richard L. Garwin IBM Fellow Thomas J. Watson Research Center Yorktown Heights, New York Murray Cell-Mann Professor of Theoretical Physics California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California Patrick E. Haggerty Chairman of the Board Texas Instruments, Inc. Dallas, Texas Philip Handler President National Academy of Sciences Washington, D. C. Daniel P. Moynihan Professor of Education and Urban Politics Harvard Graduate School of Education Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Kenneth H. Olsen President Digital Equipment Corporation Maynard, Massachusetts Lloyd H. Smith, Jr. Professor and Chairman Department of Medicine University of California San Francisco, California v

1/ Gerald F. Tape President Associated Universities, Inc. Washington, D. C. John G. Truxal Dean School of Engineering State University of New York at Stony Brook Howard S. Turner Chairman of the Board Turner Construction Company New York, New York James B. Wyngaarden Chairman Department of Medicine Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina vi TIMN 0141528

Panel on Chemicals and Health John W. Tukey, Chairman Professor of Statistics Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey ard J. Burger, Jr. rOffe of Science and Technology Executive Office of the President Washington, D. C. James E. Baldwin Department of Chemistry University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon ' Nyle C. Brady Director International Rice Research Institute Manila. Philippines John J. Burns , Vice President for Research Huffmann-LaRoche Company Nutley, New Jersey Theodore L. Cairns Director Central Research Department E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Delaware Alfred Gilman Department of Pharmacology Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York Richard L. Hall Vice President Research and Development McCormick and Company, Inc. Hunt Valley, Maryland Stanley Lebergott* John E. Andrus Center for Public Affairs Department of Economics Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut *Starting September 1971 , Roland H. McKean** James Wilson Department of Economics University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Norton Nelson Director Institute of Environmental Medicine New York University Medical Center New York, New York Oscar M. Ruebhausen Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons and Gates New York, New York . Laurence H. Tribe Professor of Law Harvard Law School Cambridge, Massachusetts James L. Whittenberger Chairman Department of Physiology Harvard School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts Bryan Williams Associate Dean University of Texas Medical School (Southwestern) Dallas, Texas Carl O. Muehihause, Sta f f Assistant Office of the Director National Bureau of Standards. Department of Commerce Washington, D.C. "Until February 197Z

ADVISERS Dr. Herbert E. Carter Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Programs University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Dr. Philip Handler President National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. Dr. J. Clarence Davies Council on Environmental Quality Washington, D.C. Dr. Charles C. Edwards Commissioner Food and Drug Administration Rockville, Maryland Dr. Stanley Greenfield Assistant Administrator for Research and Monitoring Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. Dr. Jesse Steinfeld Surgeon General Public Health Service Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Washington, D.C. Mr. James H. Wakelin, Jr.*** Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology Department of Commerce Washington, D.C. ***Until August 1972

THE PRESIDENT'S SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506 May 1970 Terms of Reference for a PSAC Panel on Chemicals and Health A very large number of chemical substances are purposefully introduced into society which impinge directly on man. Therapeutic drugs are perhaps the most obvious. In addition, however, there are more than 60,000 registered pesticide formulations on the Federal rolls and there is an uncertain but very long list of food additives which are used to improve certain qualities of food substances. Large segments of the population are subjected to these chemicals for very long periods of time. In spite of this level of exposure, the understanding in any depth of the physiological hazards and toxicity of many of these chemicals is generally not available.The technology of development of these chemicals has not been matched by corresponding biological understanding of them. Of particular concern are potentially deleterious effects on health resulting from long-term exposures to low levels of these chemicals, alone or in combination. Occasional incidents call this matter to public attention. Recent examples have included cyclamates, pesticide residues, and oral contraceptives. Thus far, each case has been treated individually-usually in a manner reactive to a variety of pressures of the moment and rarely if ever reflective of a sufficient background of objective information. At the same time, the number of chemical substances in use continues to increase as do the corresponding chances of human exposure. It appears desirable that the whole situation be addressed at once with a view towards ascertaining whether the public health and well-being are adequately safeguarded, and if not, what actions should be set in motion. A PSAC panel is being established to explore this situation. It should consider such questions as: 1. How much assurance of safety should we require? 2. What kinds and levels of research must be performed to reach a desired level of understanding? 3. What resources will be required? What will be required in terms of organizational and financial arrangements, including research facilities? 4. How are the results of research best put to use in the decision-making process? How should the research and research results be related to the regulatory process? What organizational and institutional arrangements are needed for social decision-making and education at the various levels of decision-making within the FederalGovernment and in the community-at-large? Note: There are many other substances that result from man's activities that may affect man directly, such as asbestos fibers, air pollutants, etc. To the extent reasonable, the study may consider these, too, although it is recognized that the actions to control these substances may be quite different from those required to control the previously described substances. ix TIMN 0141531