How to perform application specific Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)
The aim of this strategy is to
give guidance on how to perform site or application specific Environmental
Risk Assessments, based on experiences from Akzo Nobel.
Conducting a risk assessment is required by the regulatory framework of the EU
for existing chemicals (on the market before 1981) that are of particular
priority and also for new chemicals before being put on the market (after 1980).
Conducting risk assessment will also be required by the new
chemicals policy REACH for chemicals of high concern (more information about
REACH can be found here).
A risk assessment determines the risk to human health,
workers and the environment posed by a chemical and an environmental risk
assessment only considers the environmental part of a risk assessment. More information about
environmental risk assessment can be
found
here.
This example of an ERA strategy is based on two case studies; a
mining application and an asphalt application. A report summarizing these two
case studies can be found
here.
The strategy is intended for someone who would like a framework and a guideline
from which to start working with site or application specific initial ERAs. The
descriptions may require basic knowledge of the regulatory framework of the EU
concerning chemicals and also some knowledge of how chemicals behave in the
environment. The
Technical Guidance
Document (TGD) on Risk Assessment has been used extensively for calculations
and assumptions in the case studies. Please
consult the report mentioned above if the explanations in the working procedure seem unclear to you.
Working
procedure
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