Commercial Chemicals & Processes

SRC specializes in the evaluation of hazards associated with commercial chemical processes. We analyze discrete chemical materials as well as complex mixtures, polymers and biotechnology products. Our services include:

• Evaluating the properties, environmental fate and toxicity of commercial chemicals
• Establishing and verifying the identity, role and quantities of all components of commercial synthetic processes 
• Locating and evaluating associated scientific literature
• Identifying and filling data gaps
• Analogue selection and evaluation for read-across
• Determining the persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity hazards
• Performing systematic review for physical chemical properties and human health, ecotoxicity and environmental fate endpoints

Specific examples of our experience in this area include:

Pre-prioritization and Systematic Review of chemicals in support of TSCA Risk Evaluations
SRC provides support for the Existing Chemicals Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic’s (OPPT’s) systematic review for risk evaluations designated as high and low priority substances. SRC has supported all aspects of this process, including literature searching, designing PECO/PESO statements for screening, literature screening, data evaluation and data extraction. SRC employs literature screening tools such as DistillerSR and SWIFT ActiveScreener and has applied machine learning to accelerate the process using SWIFT ActiveScreener.

Hazardous Substances Data Bank 
For more than 35 years, SRC has been building and maintaining the National Library of Medicine’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), a component of PubChem, that focuses on the environmental fate and toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals. SRC reviews sections on manufacturing, use, physical-chemical properties and environmental fate.

New Chemical Review and Evaluation
In support of U.S. EPA’s New Chemical Program, SRC evaluates the methods of manufacture, physical-chemical properties, environmental fate, health effects and environmental toxicity of chemicals submitted as PMNs under TSCA Section 5. Under this program, SRC has evaluated nearly every chemical manufactured in or imported into the U.S. since the early 1990s, >25,000 chemicals.

State of Oregon Health Office’s Toxic Free Kids (TFK) Act Manufacturing Control Program (MCP) Services
SRC chemists provide expert analysis of manufacturing processes related to the identification and quantification of High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children’s Health (HPCCCHs) contaminants in children's products. These analyses require knowledge of industry best manufacturing practices and processes for HPCCCH contamination control.

Fate Characterizations for EPA’s High Production Volume Challenge Program
SRC collected and verified experimental, estimated, analogue and performed read-across for key physical-chemical and environmental fate parameters in support of the EPA’s voluntary HPV Challenge Program.

Chemical Hazards of Industrial Processes
The CHIPs analysis tool contains detailed information on industrial processes that use or produce commercial chemical substances, chemical storage systems and illicit drug manufacturing methods. CHIPs focuses on the potential physical and toxicological hazards for chemical substances present at chemical manufacturing facilities.