IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl (Interagency Science Consultation Draft)

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Report Information

On September 30, 2011, the draft Toxicological Review of Biphenyl and the charge to external peer reviewers were released for external peer review and public comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. In the new IRIS process (May 2009), introduced by the EPA Administrator, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the interagency science consultation draft of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl and the charge to external peer reviewers are posted on this site.

Norman Birchfield

by phone at: 703-347-0174
by fax at: 703-347-8699
by email at: birchfield.norman@epa.gov

Background

Biphenyl is an organic compound that forms colorless crystals. It occurs naturally in coal tar, crude oil, and natural gas. Biphenyl was once used in the production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) before they were banned in the late 1970s. It is no longer used as an antimicrobial and a fungicide in the U.S., but it is still used as a fungistat in other countries, most commonly in the packaging of citrus fruits. Today, biphenyl is mainly used in the production of pesticides, as a dye carrier in polyester dyeing, and as a component of heat transfer fluids, which are used for industrial processing applications. Biphenyl is found at multiple Superfund sites and other hazardous waste sites. It is on the list of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and is classified as one of the High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals.

History/Chronology

Aug 1989	The RfD for 1,1-biphenyl was posted to the IRIS Database.
Mar 1991	The cancer assessment for 1,1-biphenyl was posted to the IRIS database.
Sep 2011	EPA hosted an interagency science consultation on the review of the draft Toxicological Review of Biphenyl.
Sep 2011	EPA released the external review draft of the biphenyl assessment for public review and comment. [Federal Register Notice Sep 30, 2011]

Next Steps

Following external peer review and public comment, the assessment will be revised taking into consideration the comments received. It will then undergo a final internal review by EPA and other federal agencies and White House offices. After completing the review it will be posted to the IRIS database.

Citation

U.S. EPA. IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl (Interagency Science Consultation Draft). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-11/005C, 2011.

Downloads

IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl (Interagency Science Consultation Draft) (PDF) (187 pp, 2 MB, about PDF)
Draft Charge to External Peer Reviewers (Interagency Science Consultation Draft) (PDF) (3 pp, 25 KB, about PDF)
EPA's Response and Comments from the Interagency Science Consultation (PDF) (7 pp, 36 KB, about PDF)
1. CDC ATSDR Biphenyl IASC Comments (PDF) (2 pp, 27 KB, about PDF)