Hazard and risk assessment of industrial chemicals in the occupational context in europe: some current issues

Abstract

This paper is about industrial chemicals, the manner in which their toxicity is assessed and the use of such assessments in regulatory decision-making. It begins with general points concerning toxicological data availability and hazard identification, then moves on to risk assessment and occupational exposure limits, and finally looks briefly at three specific toxicological issues, asthma, chronic toxic encephalopathy, and “low toxicity” dust effects on the lung, where the science is far from resolved. The overall purpose of the paper is to raise, or perhaps to act as a reminder of a number of issues of particular relevance to industrial chemicals and the occupational setting, and hopefully to prompt further thinking and perhaps some new initiatives directed at the areas in question.

Introduction

Genuine toxicity has occurred, and continues to occur, in people exposed to chemicals at work. In the UK, thousands of such cases are reported each year. Skin problems caused by irritation and/or sensitisation, and respiratory diseases including asthma and long-term problems of dust or fibre accumulation in the lungs are especially prominent (Keynes et al., 1996, Jones et al., 1998, Cherry et al., 2000). This is not intended to be an emotive introduction; however, it does indicate that in the workplace there is real-life toxicity occurring that needs to be addressed. In addition, there are many other instances of claims of, or conjecture about, potential adverse effects in workers exposed to chemicals, together with issues of data availability, sufficiency, interpretation and use in a regulatory context; all of which adds up to a substantial and challenging agenda.

This paper discusses a number of current issues surrounding the assessment of the toxicological hazards of industrial and general commercial chemicals and the risks to health that might be posed by exposure to them in an occupational environment. This perspective comes at a time when considerable change is being considered in Europe in relation to many elements of the established regulatory regime and procedures involved.

The intention of the paper is to focus more on the toxicological issues than on the detail of the regulatory system, which the reader can find in the references cited. Nevertheless, a brief outline of the regulatory principles involved is perhaps merited at the outset.

In the European Union (EU), the manner in which the toxicology of industrial chemicals is characterised and used in regulatory decision-making in the occupational context is based on the following concepts. Suppliers of chemicals should convey to the recipients of their chemicals information on toxicological hazards, accompanied by simple safety advice, via EU-standardised labelling and safety data sheets. Recipients and users of chemicals (and manufacturers/suppliers in relation to their own sites) are responsible for understanding their local situation. With reference to the hazard information supplied, they are responsible for assessing and appropriately managing the extent of worker exposure so as to eliminate, or at least minimise the risk of toxicity being expressed. Regulatory authorities across the EU have established this regulatory framework and also play more specific roles, such as defining how some substances should be labelled, or specifying occupational exposure limits for individual chemicals.