As part of its "Programme for the prevention of health haz- ards caused by industrial substances", the Berufsgenossen- schaft der chemischen Industrie (BG Chemie, Employment Accident Insurance Fund of the Chemical Industry) began in 1977 to investigate the toxicity of those chemicals which are widely used, have many different applications and are suspected of being dangerous to health, in particular of hav- ing long-term effects. The investigations...