California Revises Caprolactam Technical Document

Dalton, GA, Aug. 29, 2011 -- California's Office of Environmental Human Health Assessment recently released the third version of its Technical Support Document on caprolactam, according to Carpet and Rug Institute Vice President Frank Hurd.

The report referenced data once thought lost from the human health study conducted at the University of Heidelberg, CRI said.

CRI had taken issue with the fact that the summary tables of the data in the study differed significantly from the summary tables contained in the earlier published report of the study.

After bringing these matters to OEHHA's attention, OEHHA gave CRI 30 days to fully analyze and comment on the newfound data.

The data is significant, CRI said, in that is it is being used by OEHHA as a basis to calculate an acute Reference Exposure Level (REL) for caprolactam, a key component of nylon 6, which is used in various commercial products, including carpet.

CRI continues to voice serious concerns over OEHHA's proposed Chronic Reference Exposure Level for caprolactam and is working to find a way to determine a more realistic exposure level.