Sustainable Futures program

In the United States, companies are required to submit premanufacture notice to the U.S. EPA prior to introducing new chemicals to commerce. To encourage the application of pollution prevention principles and the development of inherently low hazard new chemicals, the U.S. EPA has instituted a pollution prevention (P2) framework as part of its Sustainable Futures program (U.S. EPA, 2004c). As part of the program, training and support are provided to companies in the evaluation of new chemicals, with limited available information, using the U.S. EPA s hazard... 

Computer modeling is widely used in EPA s TSCA Sustainable Futures Program. EPA scientists have developed several computer programs to evaluate potential risks associated with new chemicals under TSCA Section 5 PMN review for which adequate data are not provided in the submission. These programs can estimate hazard and exposure... 

The SMILES notation is a means by which certain chemical structures can be described using a series of simple letters and numbers expressed in linear fashion, even for complex cyclic structures. This approach is particularly useful as input for computer models when chemical names and CASRN are unknown. As mentioned above, SMILES is an important tool in hazard and exposure modeling used in EPA s voluntary Sustainable Futures Program [1]. It can also be used to identify substances under REACH, and examples are shown in the nomenclature Technical Guidance Document (TGD) along with molecular and structural formulas. 

The Sustainable Futures program was announced in 2002 with the goal of encouraging companies to determine the risks presented by PMN substances and to develop low hazard chemicals. ... 

The problem of sustainable development of the NSS, initiated at the Rio de Janeiro 1992 Summit, is being discussed and supervised by the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Its main mandate is to monitor the progress that has been made on the path toward a sustainable future. The CSD in its third session in 1995 adopted a five-year Work Program on Indicators of Sustainable Development. The elements of the Work Program on Indicators of Sustainable Development are as follows ... 

Fed. Reg. 76282 (Dec. 11, 2002) Sustainable Futures—Voluntary Pilot Project Under the TSCA New Chemicals Program Notice 67 FR... 

Fed. Reg. 16336 (Mar. 29, 1995) Premanufacture Notification Exemption Revision of Exemption for Chemical Substances Manufactured in Small Quantities Low Release and Exposure Exemption Final Rule 60 FR 16336 LVE LoREX 3-29-95 64 Fed. Reg. 31987 (June 15, 1999) Recordkeeping Requirements for Low Volume Exemption and Low Release and Exposure Exemption Technical Correction 64 FR 31987 LoREX 6-15-99 67 Fed. Reg. 76282 (Dec. 11, 2002) Sustainable Futures—Voluntary Pilot Project Under the TSCA New Chemicals Program Notice 67 FR 76282 Sustainable 12-11-02... 

A four-year grant from the federal Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program allowed the University of Nebraska and collaborators to plan and implement training from 1993 to 1997 across the North Central Region of the USA. Each workshop was planned and topics chosen by an interdisciplinary team of extension specialists in close consultation with the local educators and non-profit farmer and research groups in states where the workshop would be held. An attempt to make the learning methods systemic for future workshops included these steps ... 

The SUSTECH program was launched by a consortium of the major chemical companies in Europe in April 1994. In doing so, they created a framework which would enable them to collaborate effectively in areas of research and development, which would be critical for the long term future of the process industries in Europe. The focus for collaboration would be those areas that while attracting public concern were nevertheless not areas in which the companies would normally compete. Such areas as sustainable development, protection of the environment, and technologies for making more efficient use of the earth s resources were ready targets for collaborative action. 

---