Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288:reg:4:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 2/4)
Character Range: 2806821–2809732

available on the dermal absorption of DCE from soil. Given the volatility of the compound, dermal absorption is expected to be low though, as there is insufficient data available to further assess dermal absorption from soil, a default value of 0.03 (3%) has been adopted for the volatile organic compounds (US EPA 1995).

    4.4.3         Plant Uptake
No data is available on the potential for DCE to be taken up by home-grown produce. Given the volatility of this compound, the potential for plant uptake is expected to be limited. As with the assessment presented for TCE, the use of the more commonly adopted equations for quantifying plant uptake (as presented in the text of Schedule B7) that do not address uptake of volatiles (from air) rather than the root, or transformations within the plant, are not considered appropriate and relevant for the assessment of DCE.
It is expected that the potential for plant uptake will be of less significance in the derivation of an HIL, when compared with the assessment of vapour inhalation, and given the limitations involved in providing a meaningful evaluation of plant uptake, it has not been considered in the derivation of HILs.

    4.4.4         Intakes from Other Sources – Background
As DCE is highly volatile and not persistent, background intakes will be dominated by inhalation exposures. DCE is not considered to be a typical urban air contaminant and little data is available for Australian cities. Cis-1,2-DCE has been detected in VOC sampling from Perth (WA DEP 2000), with average concentrations of 0.2 ppb (0.8 μg/m3) and a maximum reported concentration of 2.1 ppb (8.3 μg/m3). These values were comparable to average concentrations reported in air in the USA and used by RIVM (2001) to estimate background intake of 1,2-DCE (both isomers) of approximately 0.13 μg/kg/day. Based on the recommended TRV for DCE, this intake is less than 5% and considered negligible (0%).
It is noted that other sources found indoors (from a wide range of common products) are likely to be present and may contribute more significantly to background exposures. These sources need to be addressed on a site-specific basis.

4.5              Identification of Toxicity Reference Values

    4.5.1         Classification
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has not classified DCE.
 US EPA (2010) has classified 1,2-DCE as 'inadequate information to assess the carcinogenic potential'.

    4.5.2         Review of Available Values/Information
There is no adequate data available to assess the carcinogenicity of DCE. Review of available genotoxicity studies by WHO (2011) provided equivocal results. Review by RIVM (2001) suggested that cis-1,2-DCE could be considered genotoxic in vivo, producing gene mutations and chromosome aberrations. However, no carcinogenic toxicity values have been derived for the cis- isomer. A more recent review of