Hazard assessment databases

The data to be used in a hazard assessment can be collected from publicly available criteria documents and monographs from international bodies, peer reviewed articles and other publications, and international databases. In some cases, unpublished data from, e.g., industry can also be available for the assessor. 

Databases relevant for a hazard assessment of chemical substances are described in the following sections. 

In the hazard assessment, it is important to evaluate the toxicological database with regard to its adequacy. The adequacy of a study includes its validity and its relevance. The relevance refers to what has been studied in relation to what is needed for the hazard and risk assessment, and the validity refers to how the study was performed, e.g., conforming with a particular test guideline. The validity and the relevance of a study, or a whole database, has to be considered in relation to the reliability and thus the confidence. The data for hazard assessment are described in detail in Chapter 3. 

In the hazard assessment, it is important to evaluate the toxicological database with regard to its adequacy, i.e., the overall confidence regarding the quality, completeness, and consistency of the database should be considered. 

The Workbook is written mainly for chemical engineers or applied chemists with a good basic training in both chemical reaction kinetics and fluid flow. Experience of the development of appropriate physical properties from databases (or small-scale experiments if appropriate), for the reacting mixtures under consideration is also needed. In addition, it is important that the assessment of chemical reaction hazards, including the selection of suitable test methods and the interpretation of kinetib data, is carried out by competent experienced personnel. Where it is hot cost effective for companies to have their own "in house" reaction hazard assessment facilities, they may need to use a test house or consultancy 31. 

The second application of a values for QS ARs in environmental sciences is for the estimation of values. In contrast to the substituent constants, the latter represent properties of the entire molecules and are used to quantify the degree of dissociation at a given (e.g. ambient) pH. In this way, like log values may appear in two ways as an endpoint by itself in hazard-assessment schemes and as a chemical descriptor to account for environmental conditions affecting chemical properties. For a large number of chemicals, values are available in the literature and may also be retrieved from databases. If such are not available and experimental determinations are not feasible, estimates may be obtained from a compound class-specific Hammett equation for aromatic substances or a Taft equation for aliphatic acids ... 

This report describes the results of a historical analysis carried out on a sample of 413 accidents involving natural gas. The accident cases were taken from the MHIDAS (Major Hazard Incident Data Service) database, developed and managed by the Safety and Reliability Directorate (SRD) on behalf of the Major Hazard Assessment Unit of the U K. Health and Safety Executive. The MHIDAS database includes accidents from a number of countries, and, although it was created in 1986, it includes accidents occurring at the beginning of this century and is periodically updated. 

Hazard assessment. See Process hazard analysis PSM fProcess Safety Management Risk assessment RMP fRisk Management Plank Hazard Communication Standard employer responsibilities, 853 international chemical safety card, 853-854 MSDS (material safety data sheets), 853-855 Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), 859 Hazardous materials, separation units, 400 Hazardous Substances Database (HSDB), 852 Hazardous waste... 

The Hazard Log Database provides the central record of the Frequentis-wide Hazard Tracking process. It provides a means by which the resolution of safety issues is monitored. The Frequentis-wide hazard process is a continuous assessment of all projects (and respectively their delivered systems) and products, which enable the identification of potential hazards, the classification according to their severity and probability, the assessment of their tolerability and the initiation and tracking of corresponding risk resolution activities. 

Now you can reconsider the material balance equations by adding those additional factors identified in the previous step. If necessary, estimates of unaccountable losses will have to be calculated. Note that, in the case of a relatively simple manufacturing plant, preparation of a preliminary material-balance system and its refinement (Steps 14 and 15) can usefully be combined. For more-complex P2 assessments, however, two separate steps are likely to be more appropriate. An important rule to remember is that the inputs should ideally equal the outputs - but in practice this will rarely be the case. Some judgment will be required to determine what level of accuracy is acceptable, and we should have an idea as to what the unlikely sources of errors are (e.g., evaporative losses from outside holding ponds may be a materials loss we cannot accurately account for). In the case of high concentrations of hazardous wastes, accurate measurements are needed to develop cost-effective waste-reduction options. It is possible that the material balance for a number of unit operations will need to be repeated. Again, continue to review, refine, and, where necessary, expand your database. The compilation of accurate and comprehensive data is essential for a successful P2 audit and subsequent waste-reduction action plan. Remember - you can t reduce what you don t know is therel... 

The BASIC toxicity database contains information on the aquatic toxicity of a number of hazardous substances. In many cases, the information is given as some sort of safe level such as UK Environmental Quality Standards (EQSs) or the national/international equivalent. For substances for which no such levels have been set, a brief literature review was performed in order to produce an environmental hazard/risk assessment. 

Once a potential release has been discovered, the information is entered into the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS), a computerized database used to track hazardous substance sites. After being entered into CERCLIS, each site undergoes a preliminary assessment (PA) to determine whether the site poses a potential hazard and whether further action is necessary. If the threat is immediate, a removal action may be conducted. 

In this chapter the risk assessment is briefly introduced. Risk assessment is divided into four steps hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. This chapter also highlights five risk and life cycle impact assessment models (EUSES, USEtox, GLOBOX, SADA, and MAFRAM) that allows for assessment of risks to human health and the environment. In addition other 12 models were appointed. Finally, in the last section of this chapter, there is a compilation of useful data sources for risk assessment. The data source selection is essential to obtain high quality data. This source selection is divided into two parts. First, six frequently used databases for physicochemical... 

Exposure Levels in Humans. The database for -hexane exposure levels in humans is limited to a few older detections of -hexane in breast milk and determinations of levels in body fluids and alveolar air collected in foreign countries. A more current and complete database would be helpful in determining the current exposure levels, thereby permitting the estimation of the average daily dose associated with various scenarios (e.g., living near a hazardous waste site). Since -hexane is rapidly metabolized within the human body, further studies correlating levels in the environment with the levels of metabolites and biomarkers in humans would be helpful. This information is necessary for assessing the need to conduct health studies on these populations. 

PVC plastic is the largest end user of phthalates and a significant end userfororganotins and brominated flame retardants with antimony. A phase out of PVC therefore directly reduces use of these hazardous constituents. Alternatives to PVC vary and must be assessed on their chemical profile. Greenpeace has charted the move to PVC alternatives over the last few years and has compiled an extensive database of PVC restrictions world-wide, which is available on line. ... 

A comprehensive Manual for Investigation of HPV Chemicals is available (OECD 2004). The Manual describes procedures, including the use of electronic discussion groups and the online HPV database data gathering and testing SIDS, the SIDS plan, and the SIDS Dossier data evaluation initial assessment of data (guidance for assessing the hazards of chemical substances to man and the environment) preparation of the SIAR and SIAP and post-SIDS work. 

It has been suggested to apply an assessment factor for the confidence in the database in case there are limitations in the database, including lack of data for children, which are important in relation to the purpose of the assessment. This section gives an overview of such proposals and evaluations. Then, the key issues are summarized and our recommendations are presented. The question of an extra assessment factor in the hazard and risk assessment for chemicals of concern for children is specifically addressed in Section 5.2.1.13. 

The question of an extra assessment factor in the hazard and risk assessment for chemicals of concern for children is specifically addressed in Section 5.2.1.13. The U.S. Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) (US-EPA 1996) directed the US-EPA to apply an extra safety factor of 10 in assessing the risks of pesticides to infants and children. The US-EPA (2002) noted the overlap of areas covered by the FQPA factor and those addressed by the traditional UFs, and it was concluded that an additional UF (children-specific) is not needed in the setting of reference values because the currently available UFs (interspecies, intraspecies, LQAEL-to-NOAEL, subchronic-to-chronic, and database-deficiency) were considered sufficient to account for uncertainties in the database from which the reference values are derived. Renwick et al. (2000) concluded that the available data did not provide a scientific rationale for an additional 10-fold UF for infants and children and pointed out that when adequate reproduction, multigeneration, or developmental studies are conducted, there will be no need for an additional 10-fold factor. 

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