Combination of life cycle assessment, risk assessment and human biomonitoring to improve regulatory decisions and policy making for chemicals
Prior to market entry, new chemical substances are assessed for their risk to human health and the environment. Conventional risk assessment (RA) is limited in scope, i.e. it usually does not cover the entire life cycle of a substance, nor does it take into account sustainability aspects such as the amount of raw materials and energy required to produce the substance. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can provide this pivotal information to support an informed decision on the sustainability of a new substance. Unfortunately, LCA has had little regulatory application up to now. We believe that increasing the focus on combined use of LCA and life cycle-based RA could lead to improved regulatory long-term decisions for marketed chemicals. Inclusion of human biomonitoring could increase the robustness of such decisions even further. In addition, the combined use of the three methods allows a robust search for sustainable alternatives of currently marketed chemicals that have an unfavourable risk profile. - Highlights: •We recommend a framework of three approaches for a chemical safety assessment. •LCA evaluates the sustainability of chemicals in comparison to alternatives. •Human biomonitoring allows the assessment of total exposure to critical chemicals. •A case study on nanomaterials demonstrates the value of the combined approach.
- OSTI ID:
- 22701663
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 65; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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