US EPA

In August 2023, EPA released the systematic review Protocol for the Vanadium and Compounds (Inhalation) IRIS Assessment (Preliminary Assessment Materials). As part of developing a draft IRIS assessment, EPA presents a protocol that describes the methodology for how the assessment will be conducted, including systematic review and dose-response. These could include strategies for literature searches, criteria for study inclusion or exclusion, considerations for evaluating study methods, information management for extracting data, approaches for synthesis within and across lines of evidence, and methods for derivation of toxicity values.

Vanadium is a transition metal that occurs naturally in Earth’s crust. Fossil fuel combustion is thought to be the major anthropogenic source of vanadium to the atmosphere. The use of heavy oils and bitumen from tar sands and the use of vanadium in industrial applications (e.g., steel production, vanadium redox-flow batteries, and catalytic converters) can contribute to the release of vanadium into the environment.

This document presents a draft assessment plan for vanadium and compounds (inhalation exposure) that will be the subject of a peer review meeting in 23/24 and that will define the scope and approach of the IRIS assessment for vanadium and compounds (inhalation exposure).

The IRIS Program will use the methods for conducting the systematic review as described in the protocol to develop the draft assessment.

U.S. EPA. Protocol for the Vanadium and Compounds (Inhalation) IRIS Assessment (Preliminary Assessment Materials). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-23/167, 2023.