Environmental Risk Assessment
Objectives
The goal of Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is to make sure that chemicals used in our products will not harm the environment. To achieve this goal, it is essential to understand two things:
- What is the potential hazard posed by an ingredient or product that could affect organisms in the environment?
- How much of this ingredient or product is expected to be present in the environment?
Simply put, the ERA ensures that the concentration of any ingredient that enters the environment will be significantly lower than the concentration that could cause harm to the environment.
The assessment begins with simple laboratory screening tests and progresses to increasingly more realistic experiments based on actual use. Assessments are performed for every disposal path, including wastewater, rivers, soils, sediment, ground and surface water, and emissions into the air.
ERA: A Tiered Process
An ingredient is environmentally compatible if the Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC), the concentration that causes no adverse effect to the environment, is higher than the Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC), the concentration typically found in the environment.
The assessment must be repeated for each relevant environmental compartment, including wastewater treatment plants, rivers, marine ecosystems and soils.
The PEC/PNEC ratio is used as an indicator of risk and is called the Risk Quotient (RQ):
- RQ < 1 (i.e., PEC < PNEC): PEC is less than PNEC, so no adverse effects are anticipated. The substance can be used.
- RQ = 1 (i.e., PEC = PNEC): PEC and PNEC are very close, indicating that adverse effects may occur. When this is the case, there are three possible actions: refine the assessment, reduce usage (to reduce PEC) or do not use.
- RQ > 1 (i.e., PEC > PNEC): PEC is higher than PNEC, meaning that adverse effects are likely to occur. This results in two possible actions: reduce usage until PEC is below PNEC or do not use.
ERA is a tiered process that progresses from using screening-level tests and conservative assumptions to increasingly more realistic experiments paired with more realistic assumptions.
Post-Market Environmental Monitoring
The ERA process does not end when a product is placed on the market. Scientists worldwide continue to monitor the environment on an ongoing basis to confirm the outcome of the risk assessment.
Related Resources
R. D. Vashon, D.J. Versteeg, D. C. McAvoy, N. J. Fendinger 2005 Aquatic Environmental Risk Assessment of Personal Care Product Ingredients WEFTEC 2005: Proceedings Water Environment Federation Annual Meeting Cowan,C.E.; Versteeg,D.J.; Larson,R.J.; Kloepper-Sams,P.J. 1995. Integrated Approach for Environmental Assessment of New and Existing ChemicalsRegulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 21:1-31.