Substitute chemicals, hazards

Substitution of hazardous materials with less dangerous chemicals. 

Lohse, J., Wirts, M., Ahrens, A. et al. (2003) Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals in Products and Processes. Okopol GmhH and KooperationssteUe, Hamhurg. 

The most important step towards a preventive regime, one that truly has protection of human health and the environment at its core, is to give a central place in chemicals legislation to the Substitution Principle. This can be defined quite simply as the substitution of hazardous substances by less hazardous, or preferably non-hazardous, alternatives where such alternatives are available. It means that if a product that uses a hazardous chemical can be manufactured using a safer alternative, at a reasonable cost, the hazardous substance will no longer be permitted for that use. Common sense Yes, but currently things do not work that way, and many hazardous substances are used without need, simply because there is no legislative or economic reason for substitution to take place systematically. 

Making companies prepare plans which focus on safer chemical use has proved particularly successful in the USA. The benefits of mandatory pollution prevention planning have been demonstrated in the state of Massachusetts. Here, over 550 companies had to assess toxic use reduction options with technical help supplied by university and government experts. Toxic use reduction strategies included material substitution and product reformulation. Within ten years, industry has reduced the use of toxic chemicals by 40%, by-product waste by 58% and toxic emissions by 80%. A cost benefit analysis reveals that the same companies saved a total of Saved a total of USD 14 million (Euro 18.76 million) overthis period through the adoption of more efficient and safer processes. The programme is ongoing and has been expanded to community outreach and assessment of substitutes forsome hazardous material flows and products within the state. 

Certain regulations contained in the air legislation and also in the annexes to the Waste Water Ordinance include the substitution of hazardous substances as the best available technology and thus attempt to put into operation the precautionary principle (cf UBA texts 88/99, Guidance Manual for Formulators and Other Professional Users of Chemicals). 

The history of the substitution of hazardous chemicals could be considered a success story. If it is examined more closely, however, a range of as yet ume-solved tasks are still evident (cf chapter 6). This basically concerns two problem areas the fundamental ability and willingness to substitute hazardous substances and the question whether the substitute is actually any less dangerous. 

How do the general framework conditions for the substitution of hazardous chemicals differ from the conditions under which the case of asbestos was dealt with This analysis was so important for the SubChem project because the relevance of the historic case analyses for future substitution processes (cf Chapter 3) had to be assessed. 

Owing to its comprehensiveness, LCA is a powerful tool for comparing different options/products with respect to their potential impacts on the environment, and for identifying the critical points within the product life-cycle that contribute most to these impacts [15]. This approach can be used, for example, for comparing a product that includes ENMs with similar products without ENMs. The added benefits of the use of ENMs may be reflected in the differences in the energy consumption for production of materials or products [29, 30], or in the use of scarce resources in the production processes. In other words, LCA may be used to assess the relative environmental performance of nanoproducts in comparison with their conventional equivalents. Thereby, LCA may also quantify the expected positive potentials of nanoproducts for the substitution of hazardous chemicals, the reduction in the use of materials, and energy consumption, in addition to waste reduction. 

Almost everyone works with or around chemicals and their products every day. Many of these materials have properties that make them hazardous they can create physical (e.g., fire, explosion) or health hazards (e.g., toxicity, chemical bums). However, there are many ways to work with chemicals which can both reduce the probability of an accident and reduce the consequences to minimum levels, should an accident occur. Risk minimization depends on safe practices, appropriate engineering controls for chemical containment, the proper use of personnel protective equipment, the use of the least quantity of material necessary, and substitution of a less-hazardous chemical for the more hazardous one. Before beginning an operation, ask, What would happen if... The answer to this question requires an understanding of the chemical hazards, equipment, and procedures involved. The hazardous properties of the material and intended use will dictate the precautions to be taken. 

When feasible, substitute less hazardous chemicals for chemicals with greater hazards in experiments. 

Wirts, Never Change a Running Process Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals in Products and Processes Definition, Key Drivers and Barriers, Greener Management International, 2003, 41, 57. 

The Swedish expression of the principle is that actors should replace chemicals with less harmful ones when the costs are not unreasonable. While this may appear to be a little more than common sense, the principle and its application are quite controversial. The principle is not mentioned in the Rio Declaration and is not considered to be an established principle in international environmental law, although Agenda 21 (19.41) refer to the substitution of hazardous substances for less hazardous substances as the classical example of risk reduction. So why is the principle not established in international environmental law Several reasons exist. The application of the principle has several limitations. Apart from the cost issue, it can of course be difficult to evaluate whether a chemical is a better option than another one if none of them are properly tested, or if only one of them have been properly tested. 

Clean technology is also about reducing the hazard and the risk both to people and the environment this brings in concepts such as inherently safe design of reactions and substitution of hazardous chemicals or those that pose a high risk. In short green chemistry is about reducing the environmental impact of both processes and products. 

At sectoral level the Dutch approach to chemical hazards is distinguished by the particular prominence of the debate on substitution and the strategies to achieve this in certain sectors, as well as by the recent emphasis on the use of convenanten (covenants) to set agreed sector specific targets for improvement of the work environment - which in some cases, include agreement to improve on OEls. At worlq)lace level several features have a bearing on the approach to dealing with chemical hazards. They include ... 

Substitute less hazardous chemicals, when possible. 

Has pollution prevention (substitution with a non-hazardous material or reduction in quantity used) been considered, when applicable, as a way to prevent or mitigate chemical hazards ... 

Contractors shall use product substitution and facility management practices, including pollution prevention, to reduce use of selected toxic chemicals, hazardous substances, and pollutants by 50 percent annually, or reduce the generation of hazardous and radioactive waste types at facilities by 50 percent by December 31, 2006. 

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