Risk management European chemicals policies

A vital objective of future European chemicals policy is to avoid uncontrolled handling of hazardous substances. Assessment of each individual application on the basis of the individual substances involved (as provided for by the current regulatory system) is not an apt strategy, as the number of assessment and management cases that it produces is much too high. Quantitative risk analyses are only taken into account in the case of substances with clearly definable effect thresholds and controllable application conditions. For 90% of the market actors the particular product or application system must possess intrinsically safe properties, as most companies have neither closed systems nor the reqnired skills to deal with hazardons snbstances. 

In Europe, and internationally, new approaches to chemicals management policies have emerged, which will require basic data on all chemicals in commerce, rapid evaluation of chemical risks, information on risks throughout chemical life-cycles, and substitution of those substances of highest concern. The new European chemicals policy will likely set the standard for chemicals management, affecting all manufacturers, globally. 

Within risk management scientists, experts, stakeholders and decision-makers interact to address fundamental questions such as what type and how much data should be required before a particular risk is judged as intolerable and when and to what extent measures to reduce exposures are required. It is evident that these questions include both scientific and policy-related aspects. One specific illustration of these science-policy interactions can be seen in the discussions and various opinions expressed among experts, stakeholders and decision-makers in connection with the current review of the REACH criteria for PBT/vPvB substances where e.g. environmental NGOs such as WWF (Reineke 2008) as well as the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA 2008) argue that the criteria need to be adjusted so that also non-standard scientific information such as monitoring data should be considered if relevant and available. 

The EU classification defines the risk phrase Toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed. Causes bums. Limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect. May cause sensitisation by skin contact. [R 23l24l25-34-40-43] — Defined in Annex II of EU Directive 67/548/EEC as amended by EU Directive 200I/59/EC. Formaldehyde was included in the substance evaluation list in 2013. On February 29, 2012, ECHA (the European Chemicals Agency) published the Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) in which formaldehyde was included. CoRAP is a list of chemical substances that need to be evaluated with the aim to define whether policy measures are required to ensure an adequate management of exposure (for instance for formaldehyde) by workers and consumers. 

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