Industrial chemicals priority list

From the wide variety of emerging pollutants of industrial origin that could be considered here, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate esters (PE) are of especial relevance not only because of the high volumes produced and their widespread use, but also because of their demonstrated toxicity, particularly as endocrine disrupters. Both of them have been included in the final report of the European Commission toward the establishment of a priority list of endocrine disrupter chemicals, EDCs [3], and have been rated as of high risk of exposure for human and wildlife populations. Because of their structural characteristics these compounds cannot be included in any of the groups described above, so they will be described in this section (see Fig. 10). 

An overview is provided of ongoing risk assessments on halogenated phosphate ester flame retardants in Europe. On the basis of the so-called second and fourth Priority lists on Existing Chemicals (Council Regulation No793/93) three chlorinated phosphate ester flame retardants are selected. The selection is based on their hazard profile, volume and use pattern. The three substances involved are TCPP, TDCP and TCEP (Antiblaze V6 from Albemarle is also involved but, due to confidentiality, is not discussed. An outline is provided from a European point of view on topics such as methodology of risk analyses, data-gaps and worst case approach, industry involvement, downstream participation and possible impact of final report on industry. 2 refs. 

This article describes the strategy on endocrine-disrupting substances issued by the European Commission last December, and details why its short-term goal to compile a priority list of chemicals for research and testing has been attacked by industry, environmentalists and scientists alike. 

Abstract Phthalates are chemicals that have been used for over 80 years in large quantities due to their wide range of applications, mainly in the plastic industry. For many years, these compounds were not considered dangerous for humans due to their low toxicity shown in the preliminary studies and their low persistence. However, research conducted in recent years has evidenced their activity as endocrine disrupters, and they are now considered as emerging contaminants and included in the priority list of dangerous substances in the legislation of many countries. This chapter provides an overview on the properties, major uses, emission sources, environmental and human levels, current legislation, behavior and fate of phthalates, and their metabolites, with special emphasis on their toxicity and human exposure. 

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 chemical compounds have been produced industrially [2,3] and many of them are harmful to human health and to the environment. However, only 7% of the largest-volume chemicals require toxicity screening [2]. In the United States, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintain a list, in order of priority, of substances that are determined to pose the most significant potential threat to human health due to their known or suspected toxicity. This Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Priority List of Hazardous Substances was first issued in 1999 and includes 275 substances (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/clist.html). 

APPENDIX 31 INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS BASED ON THE PRIORITY LIST OF THE EPA, IRC, AND EEC... 

Hydrogen peroxide is a more reactive but more expensive substitute for oxygen. It has a broad and relatively well-investigated metal coordination chemistry [62 a]. While it normally does not meet the tight economic requirements for the oxidative production of industrial bulk chemicals, the priority list... 

NDMA is not an industrially or commercially important chemical nevertheless, it can be released into the environment from a wide variety of manmade sources. This is due to the inadvertent formation of NDMA in industrial situations when alkylamines, mainly dimethylamine and trimethylamine, come in contact and react with nitrogen oxides, nitrous acid, or nitrite salts, or when trans-nitrosation via nitro or nitroso compounds occurs. Thus, potential exists for release into the environment from industries such as tanneries, pesticide manufacturing plants, rubber and tire manufacturers, alkylamine manufacture/use sites, fish processing industries, foundries and dye manufacturers. At this time, NDMA has been found in at least 1 out of 1177 hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) in the United States (VIEW Database 1989). 

This element has been taken on by the ICCA who have produced a draft list of 1200 High Production Volume (HPV) chemicals. The Chemicals Assessment and Management groups of the various industry associations have programmes for gathering information on these chemicals and others already on priority lists. Beyond the Confidence in Chemicals Initiative are a number of related national commitments. These include self-commitment by the German chemical industry under the auspices of VCI to establish a minimum data set for all chemicals (including intermediates). 

Furthermore, the EU regularly produces and regularly updates the list of substances of high concern, i.e. the SVHC list. The identification of a substance as a SVHC and its inclusion in the candidate list is the first step of the authorization procedure. The European Chemical Agency in Helsinki identifies from the candidate list priority substances to be included in Annex XIV of REACH (the authorisation list). The substances on the candidate list will most probably be liable to stricter regulation in the future (authorisation/banning) which will stimulate the substitution of these chemicals. Currently in June 2012, there are 84 substances included in the candidate list. Examples of chemicals on the candidate list which may be relevant for the leather industry are phenolphthalein, boric acid, cobalt dichloride, dichromate (although not used by leather industry), phthalates (DEHP, DBP and BBP), acrylamide and short-chain chlorinated paraffins. 

Health and safety were absent from the list of priorities in the early decades of the synthetic dyes industry. Practical experience in the primitive working conditions of the time [64] no doubt made workers aware of the more obvious dangers, such as corrosive acids, flammable solvents and potentially explosive nitro compounds. Accidents must have occurred frequently, reminding victims and supervisors alike of the penalties suffered if hazardous chemicals were handled carelessly. 

E.H. Hurst s overview introduced several themes pursued by other chemical industry speakers. The Dow Chemical Company s E.H. Blair analyzed the problem of setting priorities for testing the 55,000 existing chemicals listed in the TSCA inventory for their effects on health and the environment. Resources for such testing are not unlimited. A systematic classification was made of these substances by production volume. The 9.5% of these substances which account for 99.9% of reported production were divided further into categories such as organic, inorganic, and polymeric. 

The CWA has established discharge requirements for 129 individual toxic pollutants (VOCs, pesticides, metals and corrosives), known as priority pollutants, and conventional pollutants for 34 industrial categories (EPA, 1998b). Appendix 2 lists these pollutants, which are either individual chemicals or groups of chemicals of a similar nature. Aquatic toxicity testing and temperature measurements also often included into NPDES permits. 

The RoHS procedure has now combined with European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH), which is a new European Union Regulation (EC/2006/1907 of 18 December 2006). Four additional substances are listed that will be assessed as a priority, among these substances is hexabromocyclododecane, a brominated flame retardant widely used in expanded polystyrene for which no alternatives have been found so far. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment it has been described as the most complex legislation in the Union s history and the most important in the last 20 years. It is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact industries throughout the world. REACH entered into force in June 2007, with a phased implementation over the next decade. 

---