Decision-support tool to integrate chemistry, toxicity and exposure information

Under different federal statutes, EPA makes a broad range of decisions to protect public health and the environment from unintended consequences of using chemicals. Decisions about chemicals are also made by other Federal Agencies, State Environmental and Health Agencies, International Governmental Agencies and Industry. As examples, there are specific federal laws for pesticides, drinking water contaminants, commercial and industrial chemicals, chemicals found on contaminated sites and endocrine disrupting chemicals. 

These laws give EPA the authority to gather health, safety and exposure data on chemicals, require necessary testing, and control human and environmental exposures. EPA's computational toxicology researchers are integrating available chemical information including chemistry, toxicity and exposure information into an online tool called RapidTox to help decision-makers quickly and efficiently evaluate chemicals. To help decision-makers leverage this information effectively, researchers are now customizing this tool to help EPA and states meet the requirements under various federal statutes as well as state and local laws. 

RapidTox customization allows decision-makers to have a one-stop-shop that integrates chemistry, toxicity and exposure information on thousands of chemicals, while also incorporating the unique context of the decision being made and specific requirements of a law or statute. Customized, decision-specific RapidTox examples include pre-prioritization of chemicals under the Toxic Substance Control Act, developing screening level toxicity values to aid in planning for Superfund site cleanup, and working with interested state governmental agencies to align RapidTox with state-specific chemical laws. 

EPA continually adds and updates chemical information in RapidTox, with the goal of increasing the number of customized decision-specific work flows and providing a one-stop-shop for decision-makers to use to evaluate chemicals.

Web Application

Computational Toxicology Portal

Further Resources

About the Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure
Safer Chemicals Research
EPA Research
TSCA: Prioritizing Existing Chemicals for Risk Evaluation