The Classification and Properties of Toxic Hazards

Basic information on the toxicity of many of the most commonly encountered and tox-icologically significant industrial chemicals is provided in Table IV-4. The table Is Intended to expedite the recognition of potentially hazardous exposure situations and therefore provides infomiation such as vapor pressures, warning properties, physical appearance, occupational exposure standards and guidelines, and hazard classification codes, which may also be useful in the assessment of an exposure situation. Table IV-4 is divided into 3 sections health hazards, exposure guidelines, and comments. To use the table correctly, it is important to understand the scope and limitations of the information it provides. 

Requirements for labelling of containers for supply may differ from those for conveyance. Key features of a supply label are to identify the substance (the chemical name in most cases) and any hazards and safety precuations. In Europe the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances is covered by Directive 67/548/EEC as amended. This requires labels to identify appropriate risk and safety phrases (Tables 12.2 and 12.3) depending upon product properties. A substance is considered dangerous if in Part lA of an approved list or if it exhibits hazardous properties as defined in Schedule 1 for supply, or Schedule 2 for conveyance as shown in Tables 12.4 and 12.5. Substances not tested should be labelled Caution — substance not yet fully tested . Criteria for risk phrases are provided, e.g. as in Table 12.6 for toxic compounds. 

In the chemical safety report, the hazard assessment of a particular substance is based on the data set provided in the technical dossier. This contains substance-specific information on physicochemical properties as well as on toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards. One objective of the hazard assessment is the substance s hazard identification, which comprises the determination of its physicochemical and hazardous properties for the purpose of classification. Concerning human health hazards, both human and nonhuman information is taken into consideration and evaluated with respect to the classification criteria laid down in the Dangerous Substances Directive and in the CLP Regulation, respectively. However, in most cases human data do not exist, so the hazard identification has to be based on data from animal experiments. With respect to teratogenicity, this hazardous property may in principle be detected in the following toxicity studies ... 

The basic idea of the CLH process is the transfer of responsibility for classification and labeling from industrial companies to authorities on a European Community level. In case of active substances in biocidal or plant protection products, all intrinsic properties including physicochemical properties, human health hazards, and environmental hazards are subject to the harmonization. By contrast, in the case of chemicals which are used in other application fields only some specific hazard classes are considered in the CLH procedure. According to Article 36 of the CLP Regulation, these are respiratory sensitization, carcinogenicity, germ cell mutagenicity, and reproductive toxicity. Consequently, these provisions have... 

As indicated by the current subclassifications of existing waste classes summarized above, a variety of waste properties could be used to develop meaningful subclassifications of broadly defined waste classes. These properties include, for example, waste volumes, levels of decay heat and external radiation, and the long-term persistence of the hazard posed by waste constituents. Subclassifications of waste classes also could be based on the presence of particular hazardous substances. However, if the broadly defined waste classes are based on risk, as in the classification system proposed in this Report, the intrinsic toxicity of hazardous substances normally would not provide a basis for subclassification, because this property already is accounted for in determining the basic classification of any waste. Examples of possible approaches to subclassifying the basic waste classes are discussed in the following paragraphs. 

Japan s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was formed in 1949 and reorganized as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2001. METI is responsible for The Chemical Substances Control Law. It focuses on properties of chemical substances such as persistence, bioaccumulation, long-term toxicity to humans, and toxicity to plants and animals (hazards) and the likelihood of the chemical substance causing damage by remaining in the environment (risk).87 The law stipulates regulatory classifications and the measures to be taken for each classification. The classifications include the following ... 

A9.6.4.7 The Nordic Council of Ministers issued a report (Pederson et al, 1995) entitled Environmental Hazard Classification, that includes information on data collection and interpretation, as well as a section (5.2.8) entitled QSAR estimates of water solubility and acute aquatic toxicity . This section also discusses the estimation of physicochemical properties, including log Kow For the sake of classification purposes, estimation methods are recommended for prediction of minimum acute aquatic toxicity, for ...neutral, organic, non-reactive and non-ionizable compounds such as alcohols, ketones, ethers, alkyl, and aryl halides, and can also be used for aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons as well as sulphides and disulphides, as cited in an earlier OECD Guidance Document (OECD, 1995). The Nordic document also includes diskettes for a computerized application of some of these methods. 

Jensen J (1999) Terrestrial Hazard Classification of Toxic Substances A Study to Evaluate Specific Terrestrial Hazard Criteria Using Pesticide and Biocide Toxicity Data, ECBI/19/99 Add. 7. National Environment Research Institute, Silkeborg, Denmark EOOTPRINT (2008) The FOOTPRINT PESTICIDE PROPERTIES DATABASE, http //www.eu-footprint.org/ppdb.html. Accessed 17 Jan 2008 Belfroid AC, Van Drunen M, Beek MA, Schrap SM, Van Gestel CAM, Van Hattum B (1998) Sci Total Environ 222 167... 

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