Use of Health Hazard Criteria for Estimating the Hazard Potential of Chemicals to Water in Case of a Spill

Accidental spills resulting in severe pollution can occur during transportation or handling of large volumes of chemicals. To address this problem, chemicals are classified according to the level of hazard to man and the environment in order to then define graduated technical standards. Three regulatory examples (enforced or drafted for transport and industrial installations in Europe) covering aspects of limnic as well as sea water are discussed in regard to health aspects of pollution. Whereas for the safety of seagoing tankships an exposure orientated combination of health and environmental aspects is used, for industrial plants in Germany a scoring system based on the European Unionʹs Risk Phrase system is applied. The health-related parameters primarily used for hazard classification are repeated-dose toxicity and acute oral and dermal toxicity. Acute oral toxicity is most widely used because of the ready availability of data. Carcinogenicity is treated as the most important hazard. The report discusses the importance of dermal exposure, aspiration, and endocrine disruption as parameters as well as the importance of health criteria for the protection of aquatic organisms.