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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

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) substantially cost society as a result of increases in disease and disability but—unlike other toxicant classes such as carcinogens—have yet to be codified into regulations as a hazard category.This Series paper examines economic, regulatory, and policy approaches to limit human EDC exposures and describes potential improvements. In the EU, general principles for EDCs call for minimisation of human exposure, identification as substances of very high concern, and ban on use in pesticides. In the USA, screening and

The Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) are launching a new Community of Practice (CoP) on Lead in Paint to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to the elimination of Lead Paint. This is a summary of the discussion on Compliance and enforcement mechanisms in a lead paint law, which took place on 10 November 2020.Presenters: Amanda Rawls (ABA-ROLI), Negin Mostaghim

The Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) have launched a Community of Practice (CoP) on Chemicals and SDGs to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to addressing Chemicals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a summary of the discussion on Accelerating the implementation of SDG 12.4, which took place on 25 November 2020.Presenter: Tessa Goverse (UNEP)In 2015, world leaders

The SAICM Secretariat, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, established a community of practice on Chemicals in Products to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to addressing Chemicals in Products (CiP). This is a summary of the discussion on Enforcement of products, which took place on 26 November 2020.Presenters: Anna Fransson (Kemi), Stéphane Content (Cefic)Enforcement is essential, and without enforcement any law will be ineffective. This also calls for

The SAICM Secretariat, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, established a community of practice on Chemicals in Products to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to addressing Chemicals in Products (CiP). This is a summary of the discussion on Management on classes of chemicals and flame retardants in the textiles sector, which took place on 10 December 2020.Presenter: Ilch Yiliqi (NRDC)The textile industry, as one of SAICM’s priority sectors

The Special Programme has successfully processed three rounds of applications since its inception in 2015. The Programme is currently funding projects from 42 countries. You can explore the projects through our Projects Database.Use the tool below to discover more about projects that have been funded by the Special Programme. It provides an overview of the activities each project has been undertaking to implement the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the Minamata Convention and SAICM. It also categorizes the objectives of

Chemical Entities of Biological Interest, also known as ChEBI is a chemical database and ontology of molecular entities focused on 'small' chemical compounds, that is part of the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) effort at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI).The term "molecular entity" refers to any "constitutionally or isotopically distinct atom, molecule, ion, ion pair, radical, radical ion, complex, conformer, etc., identifiable as a separately distinguishable entity". The molecular entities in question are either products of nature or synthetic products which

The database of IOMC activities in countries provides an overview of where individual IOMC organizations are working on chemicals issues in countries.The entries relate to country-specific activities and not normative or general activities applicable to many countries, such as the development of guidelines. Information from the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions is included as the Secretariat is an observer to the IOMC.

This paper examines one specific theme of the democracy-environment interface of environmental governance: the participation of stakeholders in environmental policy formulation and implementation.After a short discussion of environmental governance, its main functions and challenges, the paper addresses the issue of stakeholder participation and the claim of a “democratic deficit” in international environmental governance. It stresses that while stakeholder involvement does not increase the democratic legitimacy, it may nevertheless increase the quality and through this the legitimacy of environmental policy processes