NCJ Number
190890
Date Published
1999
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This document provides a health risk assessment of sarin (GB).
Abstract
The chemical warfare agent sarin (GB) is an organophosphate nerve agent found at several stockpile and nonstockpile munitions sites in the United States. At the request of the Army, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducted a health risk assessment of GB. The assessment comprised a detailed analysis of GB’s physical and chemical properties, environmental fate, mechanism of action, and animal and human toxicity data. On the basis of that assessment, ORNL proposed a reference doses (RfD) of a number of milligrams/kilograms of body weight per day for noncancer health effects of GB exposure. Because there is no evidence that GB is carcinogenic, a slope factor was not derived. It was concluded that the approach used by ORNL to calculate the RfD for GB is consistent with the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency. On the basis of available toxicity and related data on GB, it was concluded that the Army’s interim RfD for GB is scientifically valid. The major gap in the available information on GB is the lack of an oral subchronic or chronic toxicity study. If further research reveals that significant toxic effects can be induced by any of the nerve agents evaluated at doses below those that cause significant inhibition, new studies should be conducted to reassess the safety of the recommended RfD for GB. 1 table and 35 references