IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (Revised External Review Draft)

Abstract

In August 2013, EPA submitted a revised draft IRIS assessment of ammonia to the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB) and posted this draft on the IRIS website. EPA had previously released a draft of the assessment for public comment, held a public meeting about the draft, and then revised it based on the comments received. The SAB CAAC-Ammonia panel will review this draft assessment. Details about the meeting dates, times, and location are available via the Federal Register Notice posted on March 25, 2014. The SAB provided information on how the public can participate in the external peer review meetings, as well as instructions about how to provide comments to the SAB in the notice. Additional information on the "SAB review of ammonia" is on the SAB website.

Report Information: The Toxicological Review of Ammonia was originally released for a 60-day public comment period on June 8, 2012. [Federal Register Notice Jun 8, 2012] EPA revised the toxicological review in response to the public comments received. EPA has released the revised external review draft ammonia assessment and the SAB CAAC is conducting a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the assessment that will appear in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. Information regarding the peer review can be found at the "SAB review of ammonia" website.
About 80% of commercially produced ammonia is used in agricultural fertilizers. Ammonia is also used as a corrosion inhibitor, in water purification, as a household cleaner, as an antimicrobial agent in food products, as a refrigerant, as a stabilizer in the rubber industry, as a source of hydrogen in the hydrogenation of fats and oils, and as a chemical intermediate in the production of pharmaceuticals, explosives, and other chemicals. Ammonia is also used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from combustion sources such as industrial and municipal boilers, power generators, and diesel engines. Ammonia is a component of the global nitrogen cycle and is essential to many biologic processes.

Impact/Purpose

EPA is undertaking an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for ammonia. IRIS is an EPA database containing Agency scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure to chemicals in the environment. IRIS contains chemical-specific summaries of qualitative and quantitative health information in support of two steps of the risk assessment paradigm, i.e., hazard identification and dose-response evaluation. IRIS assessments are used in combination with specific situational exposure assessment information to evaluate potential public health risk associated with environmental contaminants.

Status

EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office has announced two meetings for the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC), augmented for the review of the draft IRIS assessment of ammonia (CAAC-Ammonia panel). The first meeting is a public teleconference scheduled for June 2, 2014. The second is a face-to face panel meeting scheduled for July 14-16, 2014 in Arlington, VA. Additional information about participation in the external peer review meetings, including how to provide comments to the SAB, are now available on the SAB review of ammonia website and via the Federal Register.

Information on the peer review can be found at the SAB Ammonia website. Following external peer review, 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 the Executive Office of the President. After completing this review it will be posted to the IRIS database.

Citation

U.S. EPA. IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (Revised External Review Draft). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-13/139a, 2013.

Date	Description
01- May 1991	The RfC for ammonia was posted to the IRIS database.
07- Mar 2012	EPA hosted an interagency science consultation meeting on the review of the draft Toxicological Review of Ammonia.
08- Jun 2012	EPA released the external review draft of the ammonia assessment for public review and comment. Additionally, the interagency science consultation draft, comments from reviewers, and EPA's responses to selected major interagency comments were also released.  [Federal Register Notice Jun 8, 2012]
09- Aug 2013	EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) announced a request for nominations for experts to augment the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC) for the review of the EPA's draft IRIS assessment for ammonia [Federal Register Notice Aug 28, 2013] (3pp., 210Kb, about PDF), and made available the revised external review draft assessment and draft charge to peer reviewers.
12- Jan 2014	EPA's SAB announced a 3-day public peer review meeting for the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia for Feb 18-20, 2014. [Federal Register Notice Jan 31, 2014]
13- Feb 2014	To provide the public with additional time to prepare, EPA SAB staff office is rescheduling the February 18-20 meeting of the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC). The EPA SAB staff office will announce a new date in the near future.
14- Mar 2014	EPA's SAB announced two meetings for the SAB CAAC-Ammonia panel for the review of the draft IRIS assessment of ammonia. A public teleconference is scheduled for June 2, 2014. A face-to face panel meeting is scheduled for July 14-16, 2014 in Arlington,VA. [Federal Register Notice Mar 25, 2014]
15- Mar 2014	EPA updated the peer review charge to include a question regarding EPA's assessment revisions and response to public comments.
16- Aprl 2014	EPA's SAB announced a correction in the Federal Register regarding the date of the CAAC-Ammonia teleconference, the correct date is June 2, 2014. [SAB FR Notice for April 9, 2014]
17- Jul 2014	EPA updated the peer review charge by adding annotations referring the reader to relevant sections of the draft assessment in order to facilitate review.

This download(s) is distributed solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. It has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency determination or policy.

• IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (Revised External Review Draft) (Aug 2013) (PDF)  (103  pp, 1.2 MB, about PDF)
• Supplemental Information for Ammonia (Aug 2013) (PDF)  (110  pp, 1.4 MB, about PDF)
• Draft NCEA Charge for Reviewers (Aug 2013) - Revised Jul 2014 (PDF)  (5  pp, 148.4 KB, about PDF)
• SAB REVIEW OF EPA'S DRAFT IRIS AMMONIA ASSESSMENT
• AGENCY RESPONSE

Related Link(s)

• SAB Project Page for Ammonia
• IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (External Review Draft)
• IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (Interagency Science Consultation Draft)