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Rudisill C, Jacobs M, Roy M, Brown L, Eaton R, Malloy T, Davies H, Tickner J. The use of alternatives assessment in chemicals management policies: Needs for greater impact. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2024; 20:1035-1045. [PMID: 37658263 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Alternatives assessment is a methodology used to identify, evaluate, and compare potential chemical and nonchemical solutions with a substance of concern. It is required in several chemicals management regulatory frameworks, with the objective of supporting the transition to safer chemistry and avoiding regrettable substitutions. Using expert input from symposium presentations and a discussion group hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment, four case examples of the use of alternatives assessment in regulatory frameworks were evaluated and compared: (1) the US Environmental Protection Agency Significant New Alternatives Policy (USEPA SNAP), (2) authorization provisions in the EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation, (3) the California (CA) Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program, and (4) the Safer Products for Washington (WA) Program. Factors such as the purpose of the alternatives assessment, the timeline of actions, who completes the assessment, the role of stakeholder engagement, and the regulatory response options for each policy are outlined. Through these presentations and expert discussions, four lessons learned about the use of alternatives assessments in regulatory policy emerged: (1) the goal and purpose of the regulatory framework significantly affects its ability to result in safer substitution, (2) existing frameworks struggle with data access and insufficient stakeholder engagement, (3) some frameworks lack clear decision rules regarding what is a safer and feasible alternative, and (4) regulatory response options provide limited authority for enforcement and do not adequately address options where alternatives are unavailable or limited. Five recommendations address these lessons as well as how the application of alternatives assessment in regulatory settings could have greater impact in the future. This synthesis is not meant to be a comprehensive policy analysis, but rather an assessment based on the perspectives from experts in the field, which should be supplemented by formal policy analysis as policies are implemented over time. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1035-1045. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Molly Jacobs
- Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Monika Roy
- Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Rae Eaton
- Washington Department of Ecology, Lacey, Washington, USA
| | - Tim Malloy
- University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Holly Davies
- Washington Department of Health, Tumwater, Washington, USA
| | - Joel Tickner
- Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
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Connolly A, Scheepers PTJ, Coggins MA, Vermeire T, van Tongeren M, Heinemeyer G, Bridges JW, Bredendiek-Kämper S, de Bruin YB, Clayson A, Gerding J, McCourt J, Urbanus J, Viegas S, von Goetz N, Zare-Jeddi M, Fantke P. Framework for developing an exposure science curriculum as part of the European Exposure Science Strategy 2020-2030. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 168:107477. [PMID: 35998412 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evaluating and managing exposures to chemical, physical and biological stressors, which frequently interplay with psychological stressors as well as social and behavioural aspects, is crucial for protecting human and environmental health and transitioning towards a sustainable future. Advances in our understanding of exposure rely on input from well-trained exposure scientists. However, no education programmes in Europe are currently explicitly dedicated to cover the broader range of exposure science approaches, applications, stressors and receptors. OBJECTIVE To address this challenge, a curriculum is needed that yields credible, well-defined career pathways in exposure science. METHODS Needs and conditions for advancing exposure science education in Europe were identified. As a starting point for a way forward, harmonised learning outcomes for exposure science were defined at each level of the European Qualifications Framework. The course programme coordinators were recruited for three varying courses, with respect to the course level and the proportion of the curriculum dedicated to exposure science. These courses were assessed via our systematic course review procedure. Finally, strategic objectives and actions are proposed to build exposure science education programmes. RESULTS The ISES Europe 'Education, Training and Communication' expert working group developed a framework for creating a viable exposure science curriculum. Harmonised learning outcomes were structured under eight learning levels, categorised by knowledge, skills and competence. Illustrative case studies demonstrated how education providers integrated these learning outcomes for their educational context and aligned the overall exposure science curriculum. CONCLUSIONS The international recognition and adoption of exposure science education will enable advances in addressing global exposure science challenges for various stressors, from behavioural aspects from individual to population scale, and effective communication between exposure scientists and relevant stakeholders and policy makers, as part of the European Exposure Science Strategy 2020-2030.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Connolly
- Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Physics, School of Natural Science and the Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, Galway H91 CF50, Ireland.
| | - Paul T J Scheepers
- Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marie A Coggins
- Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Physics, School of Natural Science and the Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, Galway H91 CF50, Ireland
| | - Theo Vermeire
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands(2)
| | - Martie van Tongeren
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | | | - James W Bridges
- Emeritus Professor of Toxicology and Environmental Health University of Surrey, Guildford GU27YH, United Kingdom; Director Research for Sustainability Ltd, Guildford, GU33AE, UK
| | | | - Yuri Bruinen de Bruin
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Space, Security and Migration, Geel, Belgium
| | - Anne Clayson
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Johannes Gerding
- German Social Accident Insurance, Institution for the Health and Welfare Services (BGW), Cologne, Germany
| | - Josephine McCourt
- European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, Directorate F, Health and Food Audits and Analysis, Grange, Ireland
| | - Jan Urbanus
- Shell Health Risk Science Team, Belgian Shell N.V., B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Susana Viegas
- NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Lisbon, Portugal; H&TRC-Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL-Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Natalie von Goetz
- Federal Office of Public Health, Bern, Switzerland; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maryam Zare-Jeddi
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands(2)
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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Aurisano N, Fantke P. Semi-automated harmonization and selection of chemical data for risk and impact assessment. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 302:134886. [PMID: 35537623 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Chemical data for thousands of substances are available for safety, risk, life cycle and substitution assessments, as submitted for example under the European Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. However, to widely disseminate reported physicochemical properties as well as human and ecological exposure and toxicological data for use in various science and policy fields, systematic methods for data harmonization and selection are necessary. In response to this need, we developed a semi-automated method for deriving appropriate substance property values as input for various assessment frameworks with different requirements for resolution and data quality. Starting with data reported for a given substance and property, we propose a set of aligned data selection and harmonization criteria to obtain a representative mean value and related confidence intervals per chemical-property combination. The proposed method was tested on a set of octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) for an illustrative set of 20 substances, reported under the REACH regulation as example data source. Our method is generally applicable to any set of substances, and can assess specific distributions in quality and variability across reported data. Further research can likely extend our method for mining information from text fields and adapt it to available data reported or collected from other sources and other substance properties to improve the reliability of input data for risk and impact assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolò Aurisano
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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Grant KA, Nakayama Wong L, Meng Q, Lee H, Phelps D, Davis S, Salinas M, Luan T, Zhou X. Informed substitution of hazardous chemicals through the lens of California's Safer Consumer Products Alternatives Analysis: Best practices, challenges, and opportunities. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2022; 18:1007-1019. [PMID: 34590786 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
California adopted the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations in 2013, which mandate that companies that manufacture specific products containing designated chemicals of concern complete an Alternatives Analysis. Alternatives Analysis is a process to avoid regrettable substitution by identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives based on technical functions, hazards, exposure pathways, life-cycle multimedia impacts, and economic impacts. The SCP Alternatives Analysis builds upon and expands existing frameworks for alternatives assessments (AAs). The aim of this study was to identify practices from AA that facilitate the robust assessment of alternatives and that align with SCP requirements and identify gaps in the practice. We evaluated completed AAs for methods regarding transparency and careful documentation of information sources, data gaps, uncertainty, criteria, and justification for decision-making. The AAs in this review demonstrate some of the challenges in the field. Most AAs have a constrained scope and only consider chemical substitutes rather than a broad array of functional alternatives. Their scopes were also limited in the hazard endpoints that were evaluated. This was most noted with ecotoxicity endpoints, which were generally confined to aquatic toxicity. The majority of AAs do not explicitly explain their decision-making methods or adequately discuss tradeoffs across the adverse impacts. The AAs also lack the analysis in the exposure, life-cycle impacts, and economic impacts that are required in the SCP Alternatives Analysis process. Further, we recommend strategies and research opportunities to address these challenges and strengthen the practice of AAs. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1007-1019. © 2021 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A Grant
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Lynn Nakayama Wong
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Qingyu Meng
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Heather Lee
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Diana Phelps
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Suzanne Davis
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Melissa Salinas
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Tony Luan
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Xiaoying Zhou
- Safer Consumer Products program, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Sacramento, California, USA
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Jolliet O, Huang L, Hou P, Fantke P. High Throughput Risk and Impact Screening of Chemicals in Consumer Products. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2021; 41:627-644. [PMID: 33073419 PMCID: PMC8246852 DOI: 10.1111/risa.13604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquitous presence of more than 80,000 chemicals in thousands of consumer products used on a daily basis stresses the need for screening a broader set of chemicals than the traditional well-studied suspect chemicals. This high-throughput screening combines stochastic chemical-product usage with mass balance-based exposure models and toxicity data to prioritize risks associated with household products. We first characterize product usage using the stochastic SHEDS-HT model and chemical content in common household products from the CPDat database, the chemical amounts applied daily varying over more than six orders of magnitude, from mg to kg. We then estimate multi-pathways near- and far-field exposures for 5,500 chemical-product combinations, applying an extended USEtox model to calculate product intake fractions ranging from 0.001 to ∼1, and exposure doses varying over more than nine orders of magnitude. Combining exposure doses with chemical-specific dose-responses and reference doses shows that risks can be substantial for multiple home maintenance products, such as paints or paint strippers, for some home-applied pesticides, leave-on personal care products, and cleaning products. Sixty percent of the chemical-product combinations have hazard quotients exceeding 1, and 9% of the combinations have lifetime cancer risks exceeding 10-4 . Population-level impacts of household products ingredients can be substantial, representing 5 to 100 minutes of healthy life lost per day, with users' exposures up to 103 minutes per day. To address this issue, present mass balance-based models are already able to provide exposure estimates for both users and populations. This screening study shows large variations of up to 10 orders of magnitude in impact across both chemicals and product combinations, demonstrating that prioritization based on hazard only is not acceptable, since it would neglect orders of magnitude variations in both product usage and exposure that need to be quantified. To address this, the USEtox suite of mass balance-based models is already able to provide exposure estimates for thousands of product-chemical combinations for both users and populations. The present study calls for more scrutiny of most impacting chemical-product combinations, fully ensuring from a regulatory perspective consumer product safety for high-end users and using protective measures for users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Jolliet
- Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public HealthUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Lei Huang
- Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public HealthUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Ping Hou
- School for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Technology, Management and EconomicsTechnical University of Denmark2800 KgsLyngbyDenmark
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Fantke P, Aurisano N, Provoost J, Karamertzanis PG, Hauschild M. Toward effective use of REACH data for science and policy. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 135:105336. [PMID: 31884133 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Nicolò Aurisano
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jeroen Provoost
- Computational Assessment Unit, Directorate of Prioritisation and Integration, European Chemicals Agency, Annankatu 18, 00121 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Panagiotis G Karamertzanis
- Computational Assessment Unit, Directorate of Prioritisation and Integration, European Chemicals Agency, Annankatu 18, 00121 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michael Hauschild
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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