Peer Input Meeting Inviting Submission of Information for the Complex Exposure Tool (ComET)
The Existing Substances Division of Health Canada hosted a meeting for the public and stakeholders to introduce and invite submission of relevant information for ComET and its underlying platform. ComET is an exposure tool which extends identified scenarios for product categories to address the broad range of reported uses for the substances on the DSL. It also extends existing fugacity models to address environmental media of human exposure. This tool was developed as part of the mandate of the Minister of Health to systematically consider potential for exposure for substances on the Domestic Substances List (DSL) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Health Canada intends to make this exposure tool freely available within the public domain.
Health Canada scientists and the model developers from The LifeLine Group described the ComET model, how it is being built, what data it contains, its capability and how interested stakeholders can submit relevant information that could improve the information platform. The meeting was not a peer review of the tool or its application by Health Canada, nor a discussion of individual chemicals, but rather provided participants the opportunity to examine the structure and some of the underlying assumptions of the ComET model.
The LifeLine Group  (http://www.thelifelinegroup.org) and Health Canada are actively seeking additional comments and data. Additional updates of the ComET model will be posted periodically by The LifeLine Group.
The meeting was facilitated for Health Canada by The LifeLine Group with the services of Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, and was held on November 8, 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio at a facility which provided for both on-site and remote (electronic connection) participation.
Fifty people attended the meeting in person, and approximately 50 others participated via web cast and teleconference.
A recording of the web cast is available at
http://www.tera.org/peer/Exposure/ExposureWelcome.htm
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