United States
               Environmental Protection
               Agency	
                     Pesticides And
                     Toxic Substances
                     (7508W)	
738-F-91-108
September 1991
               R.E.D.   FACTS
     Pesticide
Reregistration
   Use Profile
   Regulatory
      History
Sodium and  Calcium


Hypochlorite  Salts

    All pesticides sold or used in the United States must be registered by
EPA, based on scientific studies showing that they can be used without posing
unreasonable risks to people or the environment.  Because of advances in
scientific knowledge, the law requires that pesticides which were first
registered years ago be reregistered to ensure that  they meet today's more
stringent standards.
    In evaluating pesticides for reregistration, EPA obtains from pesticide
producers and reviews a complete set of studies showing the human health and
environmental effects of each pesticide.  The Agency imposes any regulatory
controls that are needed to effectively manage each pesticide's risks. EPA then
reregisters pesticides that can be used without posing  undue hazards to human
health or the environment.
    When a pesticide is eligible for reregistration,  EPA announces this and
explains why in a Reregistration Eligibility Document,  or RED.  This fact
sheet summarizes the information in  the RED for sodium and  calcium
hypochlorite salts.

    Sodium and calcium  hypochlorite  are chlorinated inorganic disinfectants
used in laundries, swimming pools, ponds, drinking water,  and other water and
wastewater systems;  on  food and non-food contact  surfaces; and  as a
postharvest, seed or soil treatment on various fruit and vegetable crops. The
hypochlorites control bacteria, fungi, and slime-forming  algae that can cause
diseases in people and animals.

    Sodium and calcium hypochlorite, better known as bleach, are widely
used compounds whose chemical and toxicological properties are extensively
documented in published literature.  These chemicals were first registered for
use as pesticides in 1957.
    EPA  issued a  Registration Standard  for  sodium  and  calcium
hypochlorite in February 1986. The  Agency concluded that no additional
scientific data would be  necessary to register or  reregister  products that
contain sodium hypochlorite from 5.25% to 12.5%,  or calcium hypochlorite
from 65% to 70%, as long as the products contain  no other active

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                    ingredients, contain no inert ingredients other than water, and bear Toxicity
                   Category I labeling.  EPA still supports these basic findings.

Human Health   Toxicity
  Assessment        All toxicology data requirements for sodium and calcium hypochlorite
                   were  satisfied  when the  Registration Standard  was issued in 1986.   No
                   additional health effects data are required.
                        Sodium and calcium hypochlorite are extremely corrosive and can cause
                   severe  damage  to the eyes and skin.  They have been  assigned to Toxicity
                   Category I, indicating the highest degree  of toxicity, for these acute effects.
                        No subchronic or chronic studies  on sodium and calcium  hypochlorite are
                   needed, due to their simple chemical nature and structure.  In the presence of
                   oxygen, these compounds react easily with organic matter and convert readily
                   into sodium chloride (table salt) and calcium chloride (road salt).  Widely used
                   in disinfecting water supplies for nearly a century, the hypochlorites have been
                   proven safe and practical to use.
                        One concern with the use of sodium and calcium hypochlorite in treating
                   water and waste  water systems is that they may result in the  formation of
                   trihalomethanes in  drinking water.   Several trihalomethanes are  considered
                   potential  carcinogens.   However,  EPA's Office  of  Drinking  Water  has
                   addressed this potential risk by setting a Maximum Contaminant Level of  100
                   parts per  billion  (ppb)  for trihalomethanes in drinking water.   Using  this
                   standard,  public  water supply systems  will be  able to maintain levels of
                   trihalomethanes within acceptable limits.
                   Dietary Exposure
                        Residues of sodium and calcium hypochlorite may remain on certain food
                   crops as a result of their disinfectant uses. However, these residues pose no
                   known hazard to human health.
                        Preharvest  and  postharvest  uses of  calcium  hypochlorite  on  all
                   agricultural commodities are exempted  from the requirement of a tolerance, or
                   legal residue limit, because they  pose no known  hazard to the public health
                   (please see 40 CFR 180.1054). Similarly, EPA will propose to exempt crop
                   uses  of sodium  hypochlorite   from tolerance   requirements.    (Sodium
                   hypochlorite is among those few substances "generally recognized as safe," or
                   GRAS.  Please see 40 CFR 180.2.)
                        Food additive regulations are established for several  food processing uses
                   of the hypochlorites.  Sodium hypochlorite may be used in  washing and lye
                   peeling of fruits  and vegetables  (please  see 21 CFR 173.315).  Sodium or
                   calcium hypochlorite may be used as a final sanitizing rinse on food processing
                   equipment (see 21 CFR 178.1010).

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                        The 1986 Registration Standard required that food additive tolerances be
                   obtained  for calcium hypochlorite in  sugar  syrup and raw sugar; however,
                   these additional  tolerances were not obtained.  Registrants now must delete
                   these uses from the appropriate calcium  as well as sodium hypochlorite labeling
                   within eight months or face enforcement action.

                   Other Routes of Exposure
                        The use  of protective clothing, including safety  glasses  or goggles and
                   chemical-resistant gloves, is still required while handling and applying products
                   that contain sodium or calcium hypochlorite as the active ingredient, due to the
                   acute toxicity of  these products.
                        In addition, reentry levels must be met before entering swimming pools
                   or hot  tubs/spas treated with  sodium or calcium hypochlorite,  and  reentry
                   intervals  must  be observed before using sprayed or fogged food and non-food
                   contact surfaces.

                   Human Risk Assessment
                        Based on the  toxicity profile and exposure scenarios for calcium and
                   sodium   hypochlorite,  EPA  concludes that the risks  from  chronic  and
                   subchronic exposure to  low levels of these pesticides are minimal and without
                   consequence to human health.  Acute exposure to high concentrations can cause
                   eye and  skin injury.   However, these risks are mitigated by precautionary
                   labeling that requires protection of eyes and skin while using these pesticides.

Environmental        All  environmental  fate  and  ecological effects  data requirements for
  Assessment   sodium and calcium hypochlorite have been satisfied since the Registration
                   Standard  was  issued  in 1986.   Upon  reevaluating  these  date,  EPA has
                   concluded that the currently registered uses of the hypochlorites will not result
                   in unreasonable adverse effects to the environment.

                   Environmental  Fate
                        The environmental fate data requirements for the hypochlorite salts are
                   primarily satisfied  by  the  document,  Ambient Water Quality Criteria for
                   Chlorine, by J. Tobler,  et. al., U.S. EPA, June 1981.
                        In  fresh water,  the hypochlorites break  down  rapidly into non-toxic
                   compounds when exposed to sunlight.  In  seawater, chlorine levels  decline
                   rapidly; however, hypobromite (which is acutely toxic to aquatic organisms)
                   is formed.  EPA  believes that the risk  of acute exposure to aquatic organisms
                   is  sufficiently  mitigated by precautionary labeling  and National Pollutant
                   Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements.

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   Additional Data
           Required
  Product Labeling
Changes Required
Ecological Effects
     Sodium and calcium hypochlorite are low in toxicity to avian wildlife,
but they are highly toxic to freshwater fish and invertebrates. However, uses
that result in point source discharges of hypochlorite-containing effluents are
regulated  through issuance of site-specific  NPDES  permits.  This program
ensures that the amount of hypochlorites discharged at each site will not pose
significant adverse effects on non-target organisms.

     The  generic data base for sodium and calcium hypochlorite has been
reviewed and found to be complete for reregistration.
     EPA has adequate product-specific data for products that meet the criteria
of the  1986 Registration Standard, and  is requiring no further data for their
reregistration.
     Product-specific data are required only for pesticide products containing
sodium or calcium hypochlorite  that do  not  meet the criteria of the  1986
Registration Standard, that is,
     - products with a percent of active or inert ingredients that  fall outside
     the ranges specified by the Standard;
     - products with inert ingredients other than water; and
     - products containing additional active ingredients (mixtures).

     The labels of end-use products containing sodium or calcium hypochlorite
must be amended as follows:
     E    Any  product  label that  currently  allows both  end  use and
manufacturing use must be amended to specify only one use or the other.
     E Because they have the potential  to cause serious eye and skin damage
if accidentally spilled, all products assigned to Toxicity Category I due  to eye
and/or  skin effects must bear the Statement of Practical Treatment on the front
panel.  They also must continue to require use of protective clothing during
application.
     E The "If Swallowed" statement must say: "IF SWALLOWED,  drink
large amounts of water.  DO NOT induce vomiting. Call a physician or poison
control center immediately."
     E  Since food additive tolerances were not established as previously
required,   the sugar syrup  and  raw  sugar uses of  sodium  and  calcium
hypochlorite  must be deleted from  product labeling within eight months or
EPA      will      initiate      appropriate      enforcement     action.

     E    To  protect  aquatic  life,   products  with  uses  that  result  in
discharge  into the aquatic  environment  must include a  statement on the
label  indicating  that the  product is toxic to fish and aquatic organisms.
They   also  must  bear  a   statement  prohibiting  discharge  of   effluent

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                containing the product into bodies of water, without an National Pollutant
                Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
 Regulatory
 Conclusion
   For More
Information
     E All pesticide products containing sodium and calcium hypochlorite are
eligible for reregistration, except calcium hypochlorite products used on sugar
syrup and raw sugar.   Since the required food additive tolerances were not
obtained, these uses now must be deleted from product labeling.
     E Products that meet the criteria of the 1986 Registration Standard will
be reregistered when revised labeling and confidential statements of formula
are received and accepted by EPA.
     E  Products  that do  not meet  the  criteria of the 1986  Registration
Standard will be reregistered only when product-specific data, revised labeling
and confidential statements of formula are received and accepted  by EPA.

     EPA  is requesting public comments on  the  Reregistration Eligibility
Document for sodium  and calcium hypochlorite  salts during  a  60-day time
period, as announced  in a  Notice of Availability  published in the Federal
Register. To obtain a copy of the RED or to submit written comments, please
contact the Public Response and Program Resources Branch, Field Operations
Division  (7506C),  Office  of  Pesticide  Programs (OPP),  U.S.   EPA,
Washington, D.C. 20460, telephone 703-557-2805.  Please note that in the
future, the RED will be available from  NTIS, at the address and telephone
number below.
     To obtain a copy of the  February 1986 Registration Standard for sodium
and  calcium  hypochlorite  salts,  please  contact  the National  Technical
Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA.  22161,
telephone 703-487-4650. Request document #PB87-103222.
     For more information about sodium and calcium hypochlorite, or about
EPA's pesticide reregistration program, please contact the Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508W), OPP, U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C. 20460,
telephone 703-308-8000.  For information about reregistration of individual
hypochlorite products, please  contact the Registration Division (7505C), OPP,
U.S. EPA,  Washington, D.C. 20460, telephone 703-557-5447.
     For information about  the health effects of pesticides,  or for assistance
in recognizing and managing pesticide poisoning symptoms, please contact the
National Pesticides Telecommunications  Network (NPTN).  Call toll-free 1-
800-858-7378, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or Fax your inquiry to 806-
743-3094.

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