1. Managing Risks at the State Level
Michael Honeycutt, Ph.D.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

2. Different Perspectives
Developing a Toxicity Factor
“Perfect data”
Uncertainty/Variability
Default procedures/uncertainty factors
Drives toxicity values lower
“Implementing” a Toxicity Factor
Background levels
Screening levels become bright lines (10-6)
“Sound Bite” explanations don’t work well to counter media hype
Conflicting information/opinions
Regulatory authority and resources
Responding to public/legislative concerns

3. Natural Gas Processing Facility
390 TPY VOCs
1.2 ppb Benzene annual average

5. New Draft Arsenic SFo
Typical US dietary intake of inorganic arsenic >10-3 risk
Typical fish and seafood levels >10-4 risk (inorganic fraction; 2 meals/month)
Typical drinking water levels >10-3 risk
Typical levels in rice (average consumption of people who eat rice, inorganic fraction) >10-3 risk
Typical soil levels in Texas >10-4 risk

6. 2005 NATA Preview National Risk Driver – Formaldehyde
Based on Cal OEHHA – Rodent nasal carcinoma/LMS; Draft EPA value even more potent
I will get calls from media, concerned citizens, legislators, environmentalists for action
Annual average concentrations – 7 monitors; 1.9 – 4.5 ppb
Will push for more monitoring

7. Reported normal human breath levels of formaldehyde (median – 97
Reported normal human breath levels of formaldehyde (median – 97.5th percentile) presumably from endogenous production (Moser et al. 2005).
Indoor and outdoor average concentrations and concentration ranges were based on values in IARC (2006).
Outdoor average concentration ranges for the US and Texas were based on monitoring data.

8. Acrolein
Ambient air monitoring program initiated at schools across the US
Acrolein will probably be a national issue

9. Where Do We Put Our Resources?
New required monitoring – ozone, lead, NO2, SOx; probably CO, PM2.5
Benzene
Formaldehyde
Acrolein
Arsenic
Our budget is shrinking

10. Take Home
The ripple effects of decisions made during tox factor development can be staggering
We want to be health-protective, but we need to be real
We need to do a better job communicating risk and uncertainty to the public and to policy makers