Semi-quantitative risk-based prioritisation scheme for chemicals of concern in the Nordic countries

Abstract

Exposure to hazardous chemicals can cause adverse effects in humans and the environment. In response to a large number of chemicals potentially emitted to the environment and costly monitoring programmes, prioritisation schemes have been developed to identify candidate substances for further investigation, based on their hazard, exposure and environmental occurrence. Here we present a prioritisation scheme with five filters; persistence/bioaccumulation/toxicity (PBT), hazard, exposure, tonnage, and monitoring, applied to an initial list of 1528 chemicals previously identified as potentially problematic. Based on data on use and detection efforts in the Nordic countries and using a scoring system including scores for data gaps a final list of 16 chemicals was reached. These chemicals are used for instance in adhesives, polyurethane foams, and explosives, and half of them are classified as either acutely toxic or carcinogenic/mutagenic/reprotoxic (CMR) or suspected carcinogenic. With access to data on use amounts and exposure, the prioritisation scheme could be adapted and applied elsewhere. This prioritisation scheme also offers possibilities of more automatisation and thus expansion to a larger group of chemicals as input information to the filters. See graphic below.