Environmental exposure criteria

When we are dealing with a high toxicity site, there are environmental exposure criteria as well as the questions about the soils and the technology, and we must be able to answer two very important questions ... 

Note (a) BCF is hioconcentration factor, NOEC is no-observed effect concentration. (b) For marine environmental risk assessment, half-life data in freshwater sediment can be overruled by data obtained under marine conditions. (c) Substances are classified when they fulfil the criteria for all three inherent properties for P, B and T. However, there is certain flexibility for instance in cases where one criterion is marginally not fulfilled but the others are exceeded considerably. (d) R48 Danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure. ... 

A 2011 study by Lithner et al. (2011) assessed the environmental and health hazards posed by plastics, based on the toxicity of their monomers. The classification is not inherent to the polymer as it is based primarily on residual monomer (with selected additives, plasticizer, and flame retardants). The ranking (see Table 8.8) can have relevance only for occupational exposures and in some food-contact uses of plastics. Also, future advances in residual monomer reduction technology and green substitution of additives can change the status of a polymer in this assessment. Where recyclabihty" is used as a ranking criterion, it generally refers to technical recyclabihty that has little to do with if the resin will in fact be recycled in practice. 

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