RISK newsletter:
International Strategy for Chemical Safety

Source: The Society for Risk Analysis' RISK newsletter, Third Quarter 1995

(In addition to describing the use of risk assessment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during her address at SRA's 1994 Annual Meeting, Lynn R. Goldman, M.D., assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, reviewed current international chemical safety activities, which are summarized below.)

During her address at the plenary session of the Society's 1994 Annual Meeting, Dr. Lynn R. Goldman pointed out that efforts to harmonize the actions of various governments on assessing chemical risks have been under way for some time. However, coordination of global activities was accelerated early in 1994 with the creation of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety by the concerned governments of 120 nations.

The international strategy of the forum is to (1) agree on international guidelines for testing chemicals for toxicity, (2) use the test results to classify and label the substances and to perform chemical risk assessments, and (3) set regulatory standards and promote chemical risk stewardship.

International Test Guidelines

Largely through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), countries are agreeing upon international test guidelines, with the initial focus on industrial chemicals and some pesticides. To illustrate the importance of international agreement in saving resources, time, and laboratory animal usage, Dr. Goldman said the U.S. pesticide registration program has around 300 test guidelines, making each test lengthy. With agreed-upon guidelines, a given substance would need to be tested only once to satisfy regulatory authorities in many different countries.

The number of substances to be tested is monumental. EPA alone has an inventory of about 80,000 chemicals, and few of these have been tested. Through a cooperative venture of OECD governments and industries, 250 industrial chemicals that are produced in large volumes are currently being screened for health and ecological effects, with U.S. industries assuming responsibility for about 25% of them.

Classifying and Labeling Chemicals

Countries are working to develop a uniform system that will use the test results to classify and label the substances for potential hazards, both in the work place and during transport. "International harmonization of classification systems is no small task," Dr. Goldman admitted. "However, achieving it is vital to decrease confusion, increase compliance with the label provisions, and increase public health and safety and environmental protection worldwide."

Thus far, classification efforts have focused on identifying endpoints for acute toxicity and dangers to the aquatic environment. The plan is to next deal with the physical hazards (such as flammability and explosivity) and the more difficult health risks (such as mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive effects).

Chemical Risk Assessments

In order to use the test results effectively in chemical risk assessments, efforts are under way to develop common assessment principles and procedures. Significant progress has been made in creating the principles for the screening data being developed on the industrial chemicals produced in large volumes. However, it is recognized that activities leading to exposure vary greatly from country to country, thus precluding the possibility of assessing risks in exactly the same way for all countries.

Identified Goals

At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, countries agreed that by the end of the century at least 500 chemical reviews should be completed by the international community. The United States is hosting an international consultation with the International Program on Chemical Safety, which operates under the United Nations Environmental Programme, to develop a process to set priorities and establish a work plan.

Regulatory coordination will be more difficult but must be addressed. "Coming out of environmental and trade agreements are a host of responsibilities for nations to uphold chemical standards and maintain transparency in actions to ensure they are not infringing on international trade," Dr. Goldman said, pointing out that the EPA has worked closely in the trade negotiations for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) to ensure that these agreements protected the environmental and public health standards of the countries.

Dr. Goldman believes that international cooperation in chemical risk stewardship is essential, and that pollution prevention and risk reduction strategies must be applied in all countries. The imperative for such cooperation, she said, "was made tragically clear with the [1984] chemical explosion in Bhopal, India."

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