United States Prevention, Pesticides EPA712-C-96-252
Environmental Protection and Toxic Substances June 1996
Agency (7101)
&EPA Health Effects Test
Guidelines
OPPTS 870.8300
Dermal Absorption for
Compounds That Are
Volatile and Metabolized
to Carbon Dioxide
"Public Draft'
-------
INTRODUCTION
This guideline is one of a series of test guidelines that have been
developed by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances,
United States Environmental Protection Agency for use in the testing of
pesticides and toxic substances, and the development of test data that must
be submitted to the Agency for review under Federal regulations.
The Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
has developed this guideline through a process of harmonization that
blended the testing guidance and requirements that existed in the Office
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and appeared in Title 40,
Chapter I, Subchapter R of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) which appeared in publications of the
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and the guidelines pub-
lished by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD).
The purpose of harmonizing these guidelines into a single set of
OPPTS guidelines is to minimize variations among the testing procedures
that must be performed to meet the data requirements of the U. S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 2601) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(7U.S.C. I36,etseq.).
Public Draft Access Information: This draft guideline is part of a
series of related harmonized guidelines that need to be considered as a
unit. For copies: These guidelines are available electronically from the
EPA Public Access Gopher (gopher.epa.gov) under the heading "Environ-
mental Test Methods and Guidelines" or in paper by contacting the OPP
Public Docket at (703) 305-5805 or by e-mail:
guidelines@epamail.epa.gov.
To Submit Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit com-
ments. By mail: Public Docket and Freedom of Information Section, Office
of Pesticide Programs, Field Operations Division (7506C), Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St. SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person:
bring to: Rm. 1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Ar-
lington, VA. Comments may also be submitted electronically by sending
electronic mail (e-mail) to: guidelines@epamail.epa.gov.
Final Guideline Release: This guideline is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 on The Federal Bul-
letin Board. By modem dial 202-512-1387, telnet and ftp:
fedbbs.access.gpo.gov (IP 162.140.64.19), or call 202-512-0132 for disks
or paper copies. This guideline is also available electronically in ASCII
and PDF (portable document format) from the EPA Public Access Gopher
(gopher.epa.gov) under the heading "Environmental Test Methods and
Guidelines."
-------
OPPTS 870.8300 Dermal absorption for compounds that are volatile
and metabolized to carbon dioxide.
(a) Scope—(1) Applicability. This guideline is intended to meet test-
ing requirements of both the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136, et seq.) and the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601).
(2) Background. The source material used in developing this har-
monized OPPTS test guideline is OPPT 40 CFR 795.226 Dermal Absorp-
tion for Compounds That Are Volatile and Metabolized to Carbon Diox-
ide.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of these studies is to determine the extent
of absorption of test substance after dermal administration.
(c) Definitions. The definitions in section 3 of TSCA and in 40 CFR
Part 792—Good Laboratory Practice Standards (GLP) apply to this test
guideline. The following definition also applies to this test guideline.
Percent of dermal absorption is defined as lOOx the ratio between
total excretion of compound following dermal administration and total ex-
cretion following intravenous administration.
(d) Test procedures—(1) Animal selection—(i) Species. The rat and
guinea pig should be used.
(ii) Test animals. Adult male and female Fischer 344 rats should
be used. At 7 to 9 weeks of age, the male rats should weigh 125 to 175
g and the female rats 110 to 150 g. Guinea pigs, 5 to 7 weeks old, should
also be used. The animals should be purchased from a reputable dealer
and should be identified upon arrival. The animals should be selected at
random for the testing groups and any animal showing signs of ill health
should not be used. In all studies, unless otherwise specified, each experi-
mental group should contain at least four animals of each sex for a total
of at least eight animals.
(iii) Animal care. (A) Animal care and housing should be in accord-
ance with DHEW Publication No. (NIH)-85-23 (1985), Guidelines for the
Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
(B) The animals should be housed in environmentally controlled
rooms with at least 10 air changes per hour. The rooms should be main-
tained at a temperature of 25 + 2 °C and humidity of 50+ 10 percent with
a 12-h light/dark cycle per day. The animals should be kept in a quarantine
facility for at least 7 days prior to use.
(C) During the acclimatization period, the animals should be housed
in suitable cages. All animals should be provided with certified feed and
tap water ad libitum. The guinea pig diet should be supplemented with
adequate amounts of ascorbic acid in the drinking water.
-------
(2) Administration of test substance—(i) Test compound. The use
of radioactive test substance is required for all studies outlined in para-
graph (d)(2)(ii) of this guideline. Ideally, the purity of both radioactive
and nonradioactive test substance should be greater than 99 percent. If
the purity is less than 99 percent or if the radioactive and nonradioactive
compounds differ significantly, the EPA should be consulted.
(ii) Dosage and treatment—(A) Intravenous. The low dermal dose
of test substance (in an appropriate vehicle) should be administered intra-
venously to four rats of each sex and to four guinea pigs of each sex.
(B) Dermal. (7) For dermal treatment, the low and high doses should
be dissolved in a suitable vehicle and applied at a volume adequate to
deliver the doses. The backs of the animals should be lightly shaved with
an electric clipper 24 h before treatment. The chemical should be applied
to the intact shaven skin (approximately 2 cm2 for rats, 5 cm2 for guinea
pigs). To prevent losses of test substance by evaporation, the use of a
stainless skin depot glued to the backs of the animals with a cyanoacrylate
adhesive is recommended. The depot is fitted with a screw cap to prevent
the escape of vapor and with a basket of activated charcoal to adsorb
compound which vaporizes (see paragraph ()() of this guidelineRef. 1).
(2) Washing efficiency study. Before initiation of the dermal absorp-
tion studies described in this guideline, an initial washing efficiency exper-
iment should be conducted to assess the removal of the applied test sub-
stance by washing the exposed skin area with soap and water and an ap-
propriate solvent. The low dose of test substance should be applied to
four rats and four guinea pigs. After application (2 to 5 min), the areas
should be washed with soap and water and an appropriate solvent (two
rats, two guinea pigs). The amounts recovered in the washings should be
determined to assess efficacy of test substance removal by washing the
skin.
(iii) Dosing and sampling schedule—(A) Rat studies—(7) Intra-
venous study. Group A is to be dosed once intravenously at the low dose
of test substance. The rats should be placed in individual metabolic units
(see paragraph ()() of this guidelineRef. 2) for collection of urine, feces
and expired air at 8, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after dosing. The metabolic
units are to be cleaned after the final collection period to remove any
excreta that might adhere to the units.
(2) Dermal studies. The test substance should be kept on the skin
for a minimum of 6 h. Group B should be dosed once dermally with the
low dose of test substance. Group C should be dosed once dermally with
the high dose of test substance. During and after the exposure period, each
animal should be placed in an individual metabolic unit for the collection
of urine, feces and expired air at 8, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after dosing.
The metabolic units are to be cleaned after the final collection period to
-------
remove any excreta that might adhere to the units. At the time of removal
of the skin depot, the treated area and the steel depot should be washed
with an appropriate solvent to remove any test substance. Also, the test
substance should be desorbed from the activated charcoal with a suitable
solvent. The washings and extracts should be assayed to recover residual
test substance. At the termination of the experiments, each animal should
be sacrificed and the exposed skin area removed. The skin (or an appro-
priate guideline) should be solubilized and assayed for radioactivity to as-
certain if the skin acts as a reservoir for test substance.
(B) Guinea pig studies. (7) Intravenous study. Group D is to be
dosed once intravenously at the low dose of test substance. The guinea
pigs should be placed in individual metabolic units for the collection of
urine, feces and expired air as the Group A.
(2) Dermal studies. The studies conducted on groups B and C as
specified in paragraph (d)(2)(iii)(A)(2) of this guideline should be repeated
using four guinea pigs per group.
(/) Group E should be dosed once dermally with the low dose of
test substance.
(//) Group F should be dosed once dermally with the high dose of
test substance.
(Hi) Measurements-excretion. The quantities of radioactivity excreted
in the urine, feces, and expired air should be determined at appropriate
time intervals as described above and, if necessary, daily thereafter until
at least 90 percent of the applied dose has been excreted or until 7 days
after dosing (whichever occurs first).
(e) Data and reporting—(1) Treatment of results. Data should be
presented in tabular form.
(2) Evaluation of results. All observed results, quantitative or inci-
dental, should be evaluated by an appropriate statistical method.
(3) Test report. In addition to the reporting requirements as specified
in 40 CFR part 792, subpart J, the following specific information should
be reported:
(i) Species and strains of laboratory animals.
(ii) Information on the sites and extent of test substance labeling, in-
cluding specific activity, chemical purity, radiochemical purity, and results
of chromatography.
(iii) A full description of the sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of
all procedures used to produce the data.
-------
(iv) Percent of absorption of test substance after dermal exposures
to rats and guinea pigs.
(v) Quantity and percent recovery of test substance in feces, urine,
and expired air. In dermal studies on rats and guinea pigs, include recovery
data for skin, skin washings, and residual compound in the skin depot
and charcoal.
(f) References. The following references should be consulted for ad-
ditional background material on this test guideline.
(1) Susten, A.S. et al In vivo percutaneous absorption studies of vola-
tile solvents in hairless mice. I. Description of skin-depot. Journal of Ap-
plied Toxicology 6:43-46 (1986).
(2) Jeffcoat, A.R. Research Triangle Institute. Absorption, distribu-
tion, metabolism and excretion of cyclohexane. Project report No. 5. Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C. National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences. Contract NOI-ES-1-5001 (1984).
------- |