Chemical risk evaluations

Assessing Chemical Risks Evaluating Products Rather than Substances, and the Case of Anti-fouling Paints... 

Assessing Chemical Risks Evaluating Products Rather than Substances... 

Guidelines for Risk Evaluation and Loss Prevention in Chemical Plants, Manufacturing Chemists Assoc., 1970. 

Chemical contaminants are usually not reduced or removed by processing steps. Chemical risks must preferably be controlled as early as possible in the agri-food chain. Food color additives (Section 7.1.3) are chemical compounds and are considered potential risks. Therefore a safety evaluation is part of the approval of a food colorant before its use is acknowledged by legislation (see also Section 7.1.6). This section explains the principles of risk assessment and includes an example of such an assessment of a specific food colorant. 

The most difficult problem of risk evaluation linked to chemicals will be discussed in this Part. This is primarily a medical problem, which therefore comes within the competence of the company medical officer and epidemiologists, but neverthel need not only be dealt with by them. The person in charge of safety control in a place where chemicals are handled also has to tackle this problem. This person will have to take into account the level of toxicity risk of a substance. This will determine the constraint level of the measures to be taken, its favoured means of penetration, which depends on the activity, and its penetration properties specific to the organism. The physical properties of the substance (which will determine the nature of the precautions to be taken) and also the values of toxicity parameters have to be taken into account. He has to check the container labelling and know how to interpret and explain the toxicity instructions on this labelling. 

While societal risk is generally applied to events that can impact the public, major accidents in chemical processing plants may also have the potential to affect large numbers of people. In particular, a single major event could affect multiple buildings and many individuals inside each building. Thus, the concept of societal risk can be applied to on-site risk evaluations as well as off-site evaluations. 

Health IfEa (1999) Risk assessment approaches used by UK government for evaluating Human Health Effects of Chemicals. Risk Assessment, Toxicology Steering Committee (RATSC)... 

Thus two components, exposure and hazard, must be evaluated together in determining the level of risk posed by a given colorant or other chemical. Risk management may therefore be regarded as a series of interdependent steps ... 

The process of risk evaluation for personnel working with dyes and textile chemicals has been discussed in detail [69]. The more extensive the database covering toxicological, physical, chemical and application properties of the product, the easier it is to assess the risks involved. 

Under the Existing Substances Regulation, which was passed in 1993, individual member states are allocated substances for which they are responsible for the risk assessment. To date, three priority fists for assessment have been drawn up, which cover just over 100 chemicals. Following the conclusion of four risk assessments, the European Commission has recently issued a recommendation on the results on the risk evaluation and on the risk reduction strategies for the following substances 2-(2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol 2-,(-methoxyethoxy) ethanol alkanes, C10-13, chloro and benzene, C 10-13-alkyl derivatives. For two of the substances, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol and 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol it is concluded that there is a need for specific measures to limit the risks to workers... 

In this paper I have tried to show that measurement of health benefits attributable to TSCA is not feasible. I hope that in doing so I have not belabored the obvious. For new chemicals and for most existing chemicals, prospective evaluation of health benefits to be achieved by various exposure controls will have to be based on extrapolation from microbial and animal data. However, while such extrapolation may be useful in a qualitative sense, quantitative risk assessment techniques involve considerable uncertainty, and in any case have not been developed for chronic effects other than cancer. 

An Overview of Quantitative Methods for Assessment and Evaluation of Chemical Risks... 

While participating in the European Union programme on risk assessment of existing chemicals, Euro Chlor (representing all major European chlorine producers), recognised the need to carry out a detailed risk evaluation on chemicals linked to the production of chlorine. In view of concerns about specific risks of organohalogen compounds to the marine environment as a sink for all watercourses, Euro Chlor focused on this environmental compartment, with emphasis on the North Sea. This sea area has been extensively studied and is controlled by the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution (OSPARCOM). For a series of chemicals on lists of concern adopted by the North Sea Conference (1990), risk assessments are being carried out to demonstrate their variable environmental profiles. 

A summary of evaluating hazardous materials can be found in the book Guidelines for Chemical Reactivity Evaluation and Application to Process Design (CCPS, 1995c) and Essential Practices for Managing Chemical Reactivity flaz-ards (CCPS, 2003d). For additional information, refer to IRInformation IM.1.8.0, Hazardous Materials Evaluation (Industrial Risk Insurers, 1998). 

Evaluation of chemical risks to human health, including ... 

The OECD Database on Chemical Risk Assessment Models includes information on models (computerized or capable of being computerized) that are used by OECD Member governments and industry to predict health or environmental effects (e.g., QSARs), exposure potential, and possible risks. The methods described have not been evaluated or validated by OECD. 

It is possible to conduct animal studies in an infinite number of ways. Although individually designed studies are often scientifically sound, and in many cases serve a particular purpose very well, they pose problems in a regulatory context. Free movement of chemicals between countries is based on the mutual acceptance of the risk evaluation made by each country and this, in turn, relies on the mutual acceptance of the data generated when testing the chemicals. Experience has shown this acceptance to be extremely difticult, if chemicals have been tested by different methods. 

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