RHP Risk Management’s Frank Pagone, PhD, CIH and Ashish Jachak, PhD, MBA, along with other scientists from across the globe, have co-authored a peer-reviewed article in Archives of Toxicology titled “Estimating safe doses of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).” This work reflects RHP’s ongoing commitment to advancing transparent, scientifically rigorous risk assessment.
The study addressed perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a persistent and widely studied member of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) class of chemicals. The objective was to estimate a plausible range safe dose estimates using current toxicological data and methods.
Key conclusions include:
- Safe Dose Estimates: After applying several, necessarily imprecise, uncertainty factors, the derived PFOS safe dose-estimates ranged, narrowly, from 20 to 100 nanograms (ng) of PFOS/kg body weight/day. The values developed are consistent with those of leading international health authorities (e.g., Health Canada) and differ from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
- Emphasis on Transparency and Variability: The study stresses the importance of transparency in assumptions, consideration of population variability and underlying disease, and harmonization of approaches across jurisdictions.
Broader Significance
PFOS and related PFAS substances remain a central focus of environmental and public health policy worldwide. Inconsistent regulatory values can complicate risk management, hinder effective communication, and erode public trust.
RHP Risk Management commends Frank Pagone, Ashish Jachak, their co-authors for their contribution to the scientific literature on PFOS. Their work underscores the importance of transparency, international consistency, and balance in developing risk values for substances of global concern.
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RHP Risk Management’s Frank Pagone, in collaboration with the international collective of twenty-three scientists were winners of the Society of Toxicology‘s Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Best Paper of the Year Award by the RSESS Executive Committee for their publication of Range of PFOA Safe Dose: An International Collaboration.
The results of this monumental collection of perspectives, knowledge and talent has been published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology: sciencedirect.com/science/article