Press Release for VCCEP Benzene meeting
DATE: January 24, 2006
CONTACT: Dan Briggs 513-542-7475 ext 21, briggs at tera.org
TERA to Convene Voluntary Children's Chemical Exposure Program
(VCCEP) Peer Consultation on Benzene
Announcement
TERA (Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment) has tentatively
scheduled a VCCEP peer consultation meeting on benzene for Thursday
and Friday, June 15 and 16, 2006. The meeting will be held at the
Northern Kentucky University METS Center located near the Greater
Cincinnati International Airport. The public is invited to attend
and to provide written and/or oral comments. The meeting also will
be available in real time to registered off-site observers via a web
cast. More information regarding the meeting logistics, registration
for attending the meeting or observing the web cast, and procedures
for submitting comments will be provided soon on TERA's web page
(http://www.tera.org/peer/VCCEP/benzene/benzeneWelcome.html).
Interested parties and the general public are encouraged to nominate
qualified expert scientists as candidates to be considered for the
benzene peer consultation panel. The nomination period will remain
open until Friday, February 17, 2006. TERA will consider all
candidates and will independently select the panel members. When
nominating candidates, please follow the procedure described on
TERA's Panel Nominations & Selection Policy web page (http://
www.tera.org/peer/VCCEP/VCCEPNomSelectPolicy.html).
Background
The goal of VCCEP is to enable the public to better understand the
potential health risks to children associated with certain chemical
exposures. Companies volunteered to collect or develop health
effects and exposure information on 20 chemicals and then to
integrate that information into risk and "data needs" assessments.
The assessments are evaluated by a group of scientific experts using
a peer consultation process, which is organized and operated by
TERA. Panels include experts in toxicity testing, exposure
evaluation, and risk assessment. More information about VCCEP is
available at EPA's web site (http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/childhlt.htm).
TERA's VCCEP responsibilities include selecting panel members,
convening and chairing meetings to evaluate sponsors' submissions,
and preparing reports of the meetings. Information on policies and
procedures, updated schedules, and meeting reports are available on
TERA's web page (http://www.tera.org/peer/VCCEP/VCCEPIntroduction.html).
Ann Parker
TERA
Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) ... a non-profit, 501
(c) corporation for scientific and educational purposes. Visit us
at: www.tera.org
