Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 440, Issue -, Pages 236-252Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.06.064
Keywords
Chemicals prioritization; Risk assessment; Chemical exposure; Hazard effects; Environmental modeling; Regulatory aspects
Categories
Funding
- European Commission [FP7-226552]
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [CSD2009-00065]
- ICREA Funding Source: Custom
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The extensive and intensive use of chemicals in our developed, highly technological society includes more than 100,000 chemical substances. Significant scientific evidence has lead to the recognition that their improper use and release may result in undesirable and harmful side-effects on both the human and ecosystem health. To cope with them, appropriate risk assessment processes and related prioritization schemes have been developed in order to provide the necessary scientific support for regulatory procedures. In the present paper, two of the elements that constitute the core of risk assessment, namely occurrence and hazard effects, have been discussed. Recent advances in analytical chemistry (sample pre-treatment and instrumental equipment, etc.) have allowed for more comprehensive monitoring of environmental pollution reaching limits of detection up to sub ng L-1. Alternative to analytical measurements, occurrence models can provide risk managers with a very interesting approach for estimating environmental concentrations from real or hypothetical scenarios. The most representative prioritization schemes used for issuing lists of concerning chemicals have also been examined and put in the context of existing environmental policies for protection strategies and regulations. Finally, new challenges in the field of risk-assessment have been outlined, including those posed by new materials (i.e., nanomaterials), transformation products, multi-chemical exposure, or extension of the risk assessment process to the whole ecosystem. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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