ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
November 19, 1992
IN THE MATTER OF:
TOXIC AIR CONTAMINANTS LIST,
)
R90-l(D)
STYRENE
)
(Rulemaking)
(35 ILL.
ADM.
CODE 232)
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by, J. C. Marlin):
On October 1, 1992 the Board issued an order asking for
public comments regarding the possible listing or desisting of
the chemical styrene on the Air Toxics Contaminants List. (35
Ill. Adin. Code 232.) Today, the Board is allowing a two week
period in which any person may respond to the comments received.
The Board has received three comments on this matter. The
comments received by the Board were from the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (Agency) (PC. #68), the Styrene
Information and Research Center (SIRC) (PC. #69), and the Sierra
Club, along with the Coalition for Consumer Rights and the
Chicago Lung Association (Sierra Club et al.) (PC. #70). The
comments are summarized below.
The Agency in its comments urged the Board to proceed with
the styrene listing and to initiate first notice publication of
the proposed rule in the Illinois Register. The Agency asserts
that styrene is a 2B carcinogen and should be a listed chemical.
The Agency’s comments explain that its determination is based at
least in part on the International Agency for Research on
Cancer’s (IARC) determination that styrene is carcinogenic. The
Agency goes on to say that it does not feel that the SIRC
rebutted IARC’s determination.
SIRC in its comments stated that its purpose was to
reiterate its position which it felt had been made clear in
previous comments. The August 24, 1990 comments SIRC
specifically refers to were submitted to the Board as prefiled
testimony and are labeled SIRC Exhibit #1 attachments A-G. The
Board notes that it also has on file additional prefiled
testimony and comments from SIRC. (SIRC Exh. #2-5 and PC. #29
and #54.)
SIRC stated in its most recent comments (PC. #68.) that it
believes that it has submitted sufficient evidence to demonstrate
that styrene is not a carcinogen. It is SIRC’s position that the
genotoxicity data about styrene does not provide a clear basis to
conclude that styrene should be classified as a carcinogen. SIRC
also comments that, based on a review of literature by an expert
commissioned by SIRC, styrene is either non—mutagenic or very
weakly mutagenic.
~
37-O2i~9
2
Sierra Club et al. commented that it was their belief that
the literature demonstrates the serious chronic toxicity effects
of styrene exposure. Thus, they argue, regardless of styrene’s
carcinogenicity effects it should be listed because of its
chronic toxicity. Sierra Club relied mainly on a scientific
article describing immunotoxicological research with styrene, in
formulating their argument. (Dogra, RK.S., S. Khanna, S.N.
Srivastava, L.J. Shukla and R. Shanker. 1989. Styrene-induced
immunomodulation in mice. Irit.
3.
Immunopharmac. 11(5):577-
598.) However, the following other articles were also given as
references:
Elovaara, E., H. Vainio and A. Aitio. 1990. Pulmonary
toxicity of inhaled styrene in acetone-, phenobarbital-
and 3— methyicholanthreene—treated rats. Arch Toxicol
64(5) :365—9.
Geuskens, R.B.M., N.M. van der Klaauw,
3.
van der Tuin
and 3.3. van Hemm. 1992. Exposure to styrene and
health complaints in the Dutch glass-reinforced
plastics industry. Ann. Occup. Hyg. 36(l):47—57.
Katoh, T., K. Higashi, and N. Inouye. 1989. Sub-
chronic effects of styrene and styrene oxide on lipid
peroxidation and the metabolism of glutathione in rat
liver and brain.
3.
Toxicol Sci. 14(1):1—9.
Khanna, V.K., R. Husain, J.P. Hanig and P.K. Seth.
1991. Increased neurobehavioral toxicity of styrene in
protein—malnourished rates. Neurotoxicol. Teratol.
13(2) :153—9.
Letz, R., F.C. Mahoney, D.L. Hershman, S. Woskie and
T.J. Smith. 1990. Neurolobehaviora. effects of acutre
styrene exposure in fiberglass boatbuilders.
Neurotoxicolocw and Teratoloqy. 12:665-668.
Schoenhuber, R. and N. Gentilini. 1989. Influence of
occupational styrene exposure on memory and attention.
Neurotoxicol Teratol. 11(6) :585-6.
Siedel, H.J.,
3.
Herkonuner, D. Seitz, L. Weber, and E.
Barthel. 1990. Haemopoietic stem cells in mice
chronically exposed to styrene vapour. Arch Toxicol
64(6) :466—9.
Shigeta, S., K. Niyake, H. aikawa and T. Misawa. 1989.
Effects of postnatal low—levels of expoure to styrene
on behavior and development in rats. 3. Toxicol Sci.
14(4) :279—86.
0137-0250
3
Srivastava,
3.,
P.K. Seth and S.P. Srivastava. 1992.
Effect of styrene on testicular enzymes of growing rat.
Indian
3.
Exp. Biol. 30(5):399—401.
Srivastava, S., P.K. Seth and S.P. Srivastava. 1989.
Effect of styrene administration on rat testies. Arch
Toxicol. 63(1) :43—6.
Interested persons may file a response to the above listed
comments to be received by the Board on or before December 3,
1992. The response period will be only for those wishing to
respond to the above mentioned comments; no new comments will be
accepted during this time.
Following the close of the response period, the Hearing
Officer anticipates that the Board will issue an Opinion and
Order which will determine either:
a) not to proceed with the listing of styrene and
dismiss the docket, or
b) to proceed with the styrene listing, and
initiate first notice publication of a
proposed rule in the Illinois Register (this,
of course starts a new public comment
period).
The Board does not envision extending the present response
period beyond December 3, 1992 and encourages participants to
timely file any comments they wish the Board to consider before
the Board takes its next action in this docket.
IT IS SO ORDERED
I, Dorothy N. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control
Boa~L7hereby certt~ythat the above order was adopted on the
/~i~day of
/ )~~-~f
~
~‘
,
1992, by a vote of
Dorothy N. G~Inn, Clerk
Illinois Pqi’Iution Control Board
r’~
i