Concerning Dangerous Substances

The EC directives and the wording of the dangerous substances directive are being continually updated. In order to assess the potential danger of a solvent the current wording of the directive should therefore be consulted. 

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the United States has been effective since 1977 and is similar to the German Chemicals Law. The TSCA specifies that chemicals must be assessed as regards their risks and registered before production and use. 

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This chapter is not concerned with the hazards of obviously dangerous materials, such as highly flammable liquids and gases, or toxic materials. Rather, the focus is on accidents involving those common but dangerous substances air, water, nitrogen, and heavy oils. 

Appendix 1 contains a number of references and links to chemical lists and resources to help identify chemicals of concern. In addition, it maybe useful to review the criteria used to classify substances via EU s Dangerous Substance Directive (67/548/EEC), Environment Canada s Ecological Categorization of Substances on the Domestic Substances List, or Health Canada s Categorization of Substances on the Domestic Substances List when establishing your organization s criteria for selecting chemicals of concern. 

L 259/10 of October 15, 1979). This Directive is referred to as the "Sixth Amendment" because it represents the sixth time that the Council has amended Council Directive No. 67/548 of June 27, 1967 (O.J. No. L 196/1 of August 16, 1967) concerning Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances. 

In addition to the facilities monitored by the Risk Management Program, numerous facilities with smaller quantities of such chemicals can raise homeland security concerns. In particular, the fifteen thousand facilities in the program exclude retail outlets for flammable chemicals used as fuel, which are not required to report to USEPA. The many smaller suppliers, transporters, and consumers of those chemicals may hold sufficient quantities of dangerous materials to cause harm if the materials were released or set on fire. They may also have the information or equipment necessary to make even more dangerous substances. Further, because those smaller potential targets are especially dispersed and potentially more difficult to defend, they may be attractive as terrorist targets (GAO 2004). 

Directive 80/68/EEC [7] concerning the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances... 

A classification and labeling inventory of dangerous substances will help promote agreement within industry on classification of a substance. For some substances of high concern there may be a Community-wide harmonization of classification by the authorities. Access to information rules combines a system of publicly available information over the Internet, the current system of requests for access to information, and REACH specific rules on the protection of confidential business information. 

Some specific needs refer to fields of particular importance, e.g. food quality including all relevant issues consumer goods governed by the New Approach Directives and relevant harmonised European standards the protection of the enviromnent and the quality of life as well as the economic concerns of the consumers dangerous substances and preparations and their impact on human beings, animals and the environment forensic science. 

In the chemical safety report, the hazard assessment of a particular substance is based on the data set provided in the technical dossier. This contains substance-specific information on physicochemical properties as well as on toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards. One objective of the hazard assessment is the substance s hazard identification, which comprises the determination of its physicochemical and hazardous properties for the purpose of classification. Concerning human health hazards, both human and nonhuman information is taken into consideration and evaluated with respect to the classification criteria laid down in the Dangerous Substances Directive and in the CLP Regulation, respectively. However, in most cases human data do not exist, so the hazard identification has to be based on data from animal experiments. With respect to teratogenicity, this hazardous property may in principle be detected in the following toxicity studies ... 

The Seveso Directive covered all European Union Member States, and held them responsible for ensuring that the relevant national institutions do what is required for adequate risk management. The entire Directive was also driven by a concern for prevention, including those parts that relate to post-accident activities. For example, terms such as industrial activity, manufacturer, major accident, and dangerous substances were defined, the types of production, operations, and storage activities that are subject to regulation were described, and the dangers that are anticipated were noted. 

The Chemicals (Hazardous Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations (CHIP) that were enacted in 1993 under the HSWA, together with subsequent amendments, are concerned with the supply of dangerous substances and preparations and sets out how these should be classified, labelled and packaged. There is also a requirement on the supplier to provide safety data sheets. 

Directive 2006/121/EC contains technical adaptations of Directive 67/548/EEC that are necessary in the light of the new REACH Regulation (Directive 67/548 concerns the classification, packaging and labeling of dangerous substances and applies in parallel with REACH). 

EXPLOSION and FIRE CONCERNS nonflammable gas does not support combustion NFPA rating (not available) gas is heavier than air attacks many metals in presence of water reacts violently with alkali metals, alkaline earth metals (except magnesium), alkyl nitrate, and calcium oxide will polymerize unsaturated compounds very dangerous substance decomposes when heated or upon contact with water or steam alkali metals, alkaline earth metals (except magnesium), alkyl nitrate, and calcium oxide will polymerize unsaturated com-... 

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