Harmonization and Regulatory Coordination
- International Screening Information Data Sets: The International Screening Information Data Sets (SIDS) is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) program under which data on high production volume (HPV) chemicals is collected and shared. View the SIDS chemical information available through the UN Environmental Program and the SIDS Manual .
- OECD Test Guidelines Program: EPA and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) are engaged in a multi-year effort to harmonize the existing test guidelines of the Office
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and of the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) into a single set of
guidelines for EPA/OPPTS (Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances). The project will then
harmonize the OPPTS guidelines with those of OECD. These guidelines are important because they set standards
for acceptable testing that EPA and our OECD counterparts may require of companies when we review chemicals.
The goal of such harmonization is to reduce the burden of repeated testing from chemical companies to meet differing requirements and to foster international efficiency of information exchange and mutual acceptance of test data. The harmonization effort with OECD has been ongoing since 1989. OPPT has published 97 guidelines in the areas of physical chemistry, ecotoxicity, environmental fate, and human health. OECD has published 77 guidelines in the same four areas. OPP has a total of 170 test guidelines which include guidelines for the above four areas as well as for other specific requirements for OPP's evaluation of pesticides (e.g., product identity, composition, application exposure). Currently, all of physical/chemical properties and environmental fate guidelines, 30 health effects guidelines and six ecotoxicity test guidelines have been harmonized between EPA and OECD. Ten health effects guidelines and 13 ecotoxicity guidelines have been harmonized between OPPT and OPP to produce guidelines that are unique to OPPTS.
OECD makes its guidelines available in print form, on CDROM, and on the OECD web site (draft only at the present time). The OPPTS Harmonized Test Guidelines can be found on the EPA web site or can be accessed through GPO Access. To order copies from GPO, call +1-202-512-1800.
- Cooperative Arrangement between U.S. EPA and the Australian Government's National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS): The new agreement, signed at the end of December 2008, provides for exchanges of health and safety data, chemical assessments and expertise. It is the first agreement memorializing and institutionalizing a level of cooperation in chemical management activities with Australia.