Summary of the Report “Toxicology-Based Recommended Exposure Limits”

The Dutch government's policy on the control of substances is intended to protect human health against the possible adverse effects of their release into the environment as a result of human activity. To this end, limits are set on substance concentrations in soil, water, air, food, etc. The limits imposed by the government are in their turn based on health-based recommended exposure limits formulated by experts. Exposure to the concentration of a substance equal to or below that limit, even for long periods, may reasonably be expected to prevent damage to the health of exposed individuals and their offspring. Within the framework of the substances policy, toxicology-based recommended exposure limits including health-based recommended exposure limits are more and more needed by the government for specified substances. The term toxicology-based recommended exposure limit is new and refers to the dose or concentration of a substance that induces a certain health effect in an exposed population; given continued exposure at a level equal to such a limit, the chance of an individual suffering a certain effect may reasonably be expected not to be greater than specified in the limit. In assessing such a limit only toxicity data and the interpretation of those data by experts should be taken into account. In The Netherlands toxicology-based recommended exposure limits have already been set for genotoxic carcinogenic substances; this policy is designed to ensure that the additional chance of an individual contracting cancer may reasonably be expected not to exceed one in a million, given lifelong exposure.