Dacarbazine; Health-based calculated occupational cancer risk values

On request of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Standards (DECOS), a committee of the Health Council of the Netherlands, estimates the additional cancer risk associated with occupational exposure to substances that have been classified by the European Union or the DECOS as genotoxic carcinogen. In this report the committee presents such estimates for dacarbazine, a genotoxic anticancer drug. For the estimation, the committee used the method described in the report ‘Calculating cancer risk due to occupational exposure to genotoxic carcinogens’ (Hea95).

The committee estimated that the additional lifetime cancer risk for dacarbazine amounts to:

• 4x10-3 for 40 years of occupational exposure to 90 mg/m³;
• 4x10-5 for 40 years of occupational exposure to 0.9 mg/m³.

Committee

• GJ Mulder, professor of toxicology; Leiden University, Leiden, chairman
• RB Beems, toxicologic pathologist; National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven
• LJNGM Bloemen, epidemiologist; Environ, the Netherlands
• PJ Boogaard, toxicologist; SHELL International BV, The Hague
• PJ Borm, Professor of inhalation toxicology; Heinrich Heine Universität, Düsseldorf (Germany)
• JJAM Brokamp, Social and Economic Council, The Hague, advisor
• DJJ Heederik, professor of risk assessment in occupational epidemiology; IRAS, University of Utrecht, Utrecht
• TM Pal, occupational physician; Dutch Centre for Occupational Diseases, Amsterdam
• IM Rietjens, professor of toxicology; Wageningen University, Wageningen
• H Roelfzema, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, The Hague, advisor
• T Smid, occupational hygienist; KLM Health Safety & Environment, Schiphol; and, professor of working conditions; Free University, Amsterdam
• GMH Swaen, epidemiologist; DOW benelux NV, Terneuzen
• AA Vijlbrief, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, The Hague, advisor
• RA Woutersen, toxicologic pathologist; TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist
• P Wulp, occupational physician; Labour Inspectorate, Groningen
• ASAM van der Burght, Health Council of the Netherlands, The Hague, scientific secretary
• JM Rijnkels, Health Council of the Netherlands, The Hague, scientific secretary