Environmental Health Criteria (WHO)


Environmental Health Criteria is a series of monographs prepared by the International Programme on Chemical Safety and published by the World Health Organization. They aim to give "comprehensive data from scientific sources for the establishment of safety standards and regulations." More than 230 EHCs have been published.
Many EHCs cover the properties of individual chemicals or of groups of related chemicals. Since 1998, this role has mostly been taken over by the related Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents, also prepared by the IPCS and published by the WHO. EHCs can also cover non-chemical hazards and methodology.
EHCs are based on a search of the scientific literature, and do not include new experimentation although they may contain recommendations for further studies. A typical monograph on a chemical substance would include:
Monographs do not contain specific guidelines for regulations, and they do not constitute an official position of the WHO or of any of the other organizations participating in the IPCS.