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Academic article

Life cycle based alternatives assessment (LCAA) for chemical substitution

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Green Chemistry

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July 2020

AbstractThe world faces an increasing need to phase out harmful chemicals and design sustainable alternatives across various consumer products and industrial applications. Alternatives assessment is an emerging field focusing on identifying viable solutions to substitute harmful chemicals. However, current methods fail to consider trade-offs from human and ecosystem exposures, and from impacts associated with chemical supply chains and product life cycles. To close this gap, we propose a life cycle based alternatives assessment (LCAA) framework for consistently integrating quantitative exposure

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Topics: Chemicals in toys Chemicals in building products

Academic article

Rethinking chemistry for a circular economy

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ScienceDirect

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January 2020

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Earth is running out of resources needed for manufacturing materials such as chemicals, minerals, and petroleum. Thus, these components are available only at increasing economic and environmental costs. As an important contribution to a sustainable future, chemistry and its products must be adapted to a circular economy (CE)—a system aimed at eliminating waste, circulating and recycling products, and saving resources and the environment.Nearly 140,000 industrial chemicals are marketed worldwide, and new chemicals are becoming more complex (e.g., stereochemistry, functional groups)

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Topics: Circularity Knowledge Management

Academic article

Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

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American Chemical Society

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July 2020

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Microplastic contamination of the marine environment is widespread, but the extent to which the marine food web is contaminated is not yet known. The aims of this study were to go beyond visual identification techniques and develop and apply a simple seafood sample cleanup, extraction, and quantitative analysis method using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry to improve the detection of plastic contamination.This method allows the identification and quantification of polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, and poly (methyl methacrylate) in the

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Academic article

Chemicals of concern in plastic toys

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ScienceDirect

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October 2020

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We present a list of Chemicals of Concern (CoCs) in plastic toys. We started from available studies reporting chemical composition of toys to group plastic materials, as well as to gather mass fractions and function of chemicals in these materials. Chemical emissions from plastic toys and subsequent human exposures were then estimated using a series of models and a coupled near-field and far-field exposure assessment framework. Comparing human doses with reference doses shows high Hazard Quotients of up to 387

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Topics: Chemicals in toys

Academic article

Occurrence, Treatment, and Toxicological Relevance of EDCs and Pharmaceuticals in Water

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International Ozone Association

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March 2008

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Over the past decade a great amount of interest has arisen regarding the occurrence and fate of trace organic contaminants in the aquatic environment. Of particular concern are human hormones and pharmaceuticals, many of which are ubiquitous contaminants in conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents when measured with ng/L detection limits. As analytical procedures and bioassay techniques become more readily available and increasingly sensitive, new contaminants will be discovered. The presence or absence of any chemical in a wastewater effluent

Emerging Policy Issues: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Pharmaceutical pollutants

Academic article

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment: implications for the drinking water industry and global environmental health

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IWA Publishing

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February 2009

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Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a group of chemical compounds with diverse physical and chemical properties. Recent studies have indicated undesired effects of EDCs and PPCPs at their reported trace concentrations. This paper reviews the current knowledge on the sources, properties, occurrence and health impacts of EDCs and PPCPs, and their removal from drinking water using ozonation and ozone/hydrogen peroxide-based advanced oxidation. The paper also examines the potential threats posed by these chemicals

Emerging Policy Issues: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Pharmaceutical pollutants

Academic article

Alternative societal solutions to pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

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ScienceDirect

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September 2020

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Environmental contamination with pharmaceuticals is widespread, inducing risks to both human health and the environment. This paper explores potential societal solutions to human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. To this end, we adopt transition research’s multi-level perspective framework, which allows us to understand the dynamics underlying pharmaceutical emissions and to recognize social and technical factors triggering change. The authors' qualitative analysis is based on data collected through literature research and interviews with actors from pharmaceutical industry, the health

Emerging Policy Issues: Pharmaceutical pollutants

Academic article

Antimicrobial pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment - occurrence and environmental implications

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ScienceDirect

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November 2019

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The environmental occurrence of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals and antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistant genes has become a global phenomenon and a multifaceted threat. Integrated actions of many parties are needed to prevent further aggravation of the problem. Well-directed actions require clear understanding of the problem, which can be ensured by frequent revaluation of the existing knowledge and disseminating it among relevant audiences. The goal of this review paper is to discuss the occurrence and abundance of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals in the

Emerging Policy Issues: Pharmaceutical pollutants

Academic article

Exposure and toxicity characterization of chemical emissions and chemicals in products: global recommendations and implementation in USEtox

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Springer Nature

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April 2021

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Reducing chemical pressure on human and environmental health is an integral part of the global sustainability agenda. Guidelines for deriving globally applicable, life cycle–based indicators are required to consistently quantify toxicity impacts from chemical emissions as well as from chemicals in consumer products. In response, we elaborate the methodological framework and present recommendations for advancing near-field/far-field exposure and toxicity characterization, and for implementing these recommendations into the scientific consensus model USEtox.The present work was supported by the “Global Best Practices

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Academic article

Coupled mass and heat transfer modeling in building envelopes to consistently assess human exposure and energy performance in indoor environments

April 2023

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This study aims to predict human exposure to pollutants and heating load in buildings by developing a numerical model coupling heat and chemical transfers in the building envelope. The study characterizes the effect of temperature and air renewal rate on chemical emissions from building materials and human exposure. The results show that increasing indoor temperature by 10°C doubles the maximum indoor air concentration of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, leading to increased human exposure. The study also finds that higher air renewal rates lead to smaller intake fractions of pollutants from building materials. The study highlights the need to guide early design choices towards a good compromise between human indoor exposure and heating load, especially with the increasing emphasis on energy-efficient building design.

This is a pre-print manuscript pending publication in open access scientific journals.

This document has been developed within the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project ID: 9771 on Global Best Practices on Emerging Chemical Policy Issues of Concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Emerging Policy Issues: Chemicals in products

Topics: Chemicals in building products