EPA and IARC Report on Human Carcinogens

EPA-IRIS Toxic Effects
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EPA-IRIS Toxic Effects
According to EPA Integrated Risk Information System, out of the 651 chemical elements listed, 23 chemical elements are classifiable as A-human carcinogens (US EPA National Center for Environmental Assessment, n.d.).. Out of the 153 chemical elements that make up categories A, B1, B2, C, and those classified generally carcinogenic to humans or likely, 66 chemical agents are reported to enter the human system primarily through inhalation while 87 chemical agents have oral as the main route of exposure.
According to WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, a total of 122 agents are classified under Group 1 on the IARC monograph, denoting confirmed human carcinogens (IARC, 2022). The number of confirmed human carcinogens from EPA IRIS and WHO IARC that is A-human carcinogen and Group 1 respectively varies by a significant margin. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons.
The most apparent culprit for the huge margins in the number of confirmed human carcinogens between the two authorities is the time with which the study to determine the classification is carried out and the frequency used to update the data. The other culprit is the method used to evaluate the potential human carcinogen. Earlier studies that sought to identify the human carcinogen majored in the human diet. However, there has been tremendous development in the studies used to identify suspected human carcinogens, with the spectrum expanding to include even naturally occurring toxins. The specimens used in the studies also significantly impact the classification of human carcinogens.
The data available to the two authorities significantly impact the number of classified chemical elements. The process of identifying carcinogens is based on the scientific analysis of data from human epidemiologi...