Chemical Risk Governance

This incisive volume of the Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Law offers a broad analysis of the foundations, main concepts, and substantive and procedural requirements of selected chemical law regimes as they pertain to the environment. Featuring contributions from more than 40 expert scholars and practitioners in the field, the volume focuses on chemical regulatory systems from representative jurisdictions, including the EU and the US, to provide a coherent overview of this expansive and often fragmented area of law. Divided into five thematic parts, the volume first examines the fundamental concepts of chemical law, addressing topics including risk assessment, nomenclature, environmental justice and animal testing. Entries then discuss types of chemicals and exposures, regulation of chemicals in products and manufacturing, and waste and contamination, as well as covering liability rules as they apply to chemicals. This volume will be an essential resource for scholars and students looking for a clear understanding of chemicals regulation and governance from environmental and public health perspectives at both national and international levels. Its insights into policy developments and liability issues will also be of interest to policymakers and practitioners.

This volume of proceedings reviews the status of risks entailed in the manufacture, handling, use and disposal of the chemicals on which we all depend and suggests further action for the protection of both the workplace and the natural environment.

All industrial countries have developed regulatory systems to assess and manage the risk of chemical substances to the working and natural environment. The pressure to harmonize these often specialized regulatory systems is increasingly strong at the international level. Such harmonization not only entails the assessment of particular chemicals, but also the way assessment procedures and their boundary with risk management is organized. As these initiatives intensify, they increasingly raise important questions of how to integrate national differences in the international regulatory arena. How will national consultation procedures relate to international decision-making on chemical risks? How will differences in national risk assessment procedures be accommodated? How will the international regulatory system be integrated with different national styles of regulation and government? Presenting the experiences and insights of both people from within the worlds of risk assessment and management and from the field of Science Studies, this book forms a state-of-the-art in the discussion on the Politics of Chemical Risk. By offering scenarios, or sketches of a regulatory future, it points to the choices that can be made and the opportunities to be explored. As such, it offers an agenda for environmental and occupational scientists, policy-makers and students of science and technology alike.

This volume presents research on current trends in chemical regulations – a fa- growing, complex, and increasingly internationalized field. The book grew out from a multidisciplinary research project entitled ‘Regulating Chemical Risks in the Baltic Sea Area: Science, Politics, and the Media’, led by Michael Gilek at Södertörn University, Sweden. This research project involved scholars and experts from natural as well as social sciences, based at Södertörn University, Swedish Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Karolinska Institutet, and Umeå University. The project group organized a multidisciplinary research conference on chemical risk regulations, held in Stockholm, August 15–17, 2007. Most of the contributions published in this book were, in draft form, first presented at this conference. The conference, like the ensuing edited volume, expanded the geographical focus beyond the Baltic Sea area to include wider European, and to some extent also global trends. Many thanks to all project colleagues and conference participants! We are very grateful for the generous financial support received from The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen), The Swedish Research Council Formas, and from Södertörn University. Without this support the present book would not have been possible. Special thanks to all of our fellow contributors, all of whom have submitted to- cal papers based on high-quality research. Many thanks also to Tobias Evers, who assisted us with technical editing. Finally, we are grateful for the professionalism shown by our editors at Springer.

The tragic incident at Bhopal, India made it clear that safetyreviews for identification and control of accidents involving toxicchemicals must be more systematic. This guide shows how tointegrate hazard identification, risk assessment, consequenceanalysis, and risk mitigation into a formalized program forhandling hazardous chemicals. Most of the 21 contributors aresenior staff members at Stone & Webster EngineeringCorporation. They discuss how to perform and supervise safetystudies for chemical, petrochemical, petroleum refining, and otherfacilities. They discuss all aspects of detection, prevention, andmitigation of risks associated with processing, handling, andproduction of hazardous chemicals. Special attention is given tohazard identification and hazard assessment techniques ranging fromsimple screening checklists to highly structured Hazard andOperability (HAZOP) analysis. You're shown how to calculatepotential consequences of identified hazards, quantify thelikelihood of these events, and combine equipment failure rate dataand human reliability analysis with hazard assessment. You'll alsobenefit from the book's rundowns of how to * apply expert systems and artificial intelligence in riskmanagement * instill safety-oriented operating and maintenanceprocedures * train operators and emergency response personnel * conduct internal and external safety audits * perform chemical dispersion, explosion, and fire analyses * assess health effects from chemical releases * use insurance vehicles to deal with residual risk. Risk Assessment and Risk Management for the Chemical ProcessIndustry is an essential source on minimizing the dangers of toxicincidents and accidents. It is essential reading for safetyengineers, regulatory managers, environmental engineers, and otherprofessionals responsible for safety in chemical plants.

The Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established the "Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society" (CCMS) in 1969. The CCMS was charged with developing meaningful environmental and social programmes for solving existing problems and developing long-range goals for environmental protection. In 1983, at the Fall Plenary of the CCMS, the Norwegian delegate Dr. H.C. Christensen, proposed a Pilot Study on "Risk Management of Chemicals in the Environment". A draft proposal, written by Dr. Kari Kveseth of the Center for Industrial Research in Oslo, was presented. Dr. Christensen also informed the participants at the meeting that Norway was willing to act as the Pilot Country. The project was initially planned for 3 years, but it was later extended through 1987. The inaugural meeting was held in Oslo in April 1984 with participants from Denmark, Greece, France and Italy, in addition to representatives from several Norwegian institutions. The attendees concluded that a Pilot Study, as delineated in the draft proposal, would be useful, and it was decided to work out a detailed project plan based on the proposal.

The Guidance on Corporate Governance for Process Safety draws attention to those at the top of industry to the need for high standards of corporate governance in relation to the management of high hazard industries. The Guidance encourages every director, CEO and President of a major hazard ...

The key to successfully ensuring adequate protection of life, health, property, and the environment whenever and wherever hazardous chemicals are used is information. Having the right information, readily available, in easy-to-read, non-technical, language can literally save a life. It can also prevent costly and devastating environmental contamination or property loss. However, anyone who have practiced in the field of occupational or environmental safety and health has been frustrated by the lack of available information. Risk Management for Hazardous Chemicals has been compiled to provide quick and accurate reference information for those who work with chemicals. It allows them to accomplish their duties more effectively, efficiently, and with more confidence. It is intended for anyone who needs to know about methods and procedures for managing the risks associated with using hazardous chemicals, including: