Ecological sustainability and the use of chemicals: Is ecotoxicological risk assessment doing its job properly? An introduction to chemical time bombs

Abstract

AbstractTen million chemical substances are registered scientifically, but only 1 per cent, 100000, are known to be traded internationally, and only a fraction of these are assessed to establish (eco)toxicological risks through international and national authorities. Only a few of the substances are natural or systemic; most are xenobiotic and poorly evaluated with respect to their environmental effects. It is not only the chemical accidents that make newspaper headlines, but the creeping accumulation of pollutants in soils, sediments and groundwater which degrade the environment for future generations. Ecotoxicological risk assessment still neglects this ‘hidden pollution’, as it usually deals only with the bioavailable fractions of chemicals in the environment. the ‘lost’ (residue) fractions, however, can have non‐linear and time‐delayed effects (chemical time bombs).As governments need to protect their natural resources (soils, sediments, groundwaters) against negative impacts from chemicals, an ecosystem approach May, help them to overcome the shortsightedness of current ‘acute’ ecotoxico‐logical risk assessments. the Netherlands' risk philosophy on chemicals in the environment is discussed as an example. the National Environmental Policy Plan‐2 (1994) stresses the chain of events associated with a chemical from the raw material, The side effects of its transport, production, use and disposal, to its final effects in the ecosystem, including the time‐delayed responses of pollution. a revised ecotoxicological assessment policy under the new NEPP will have to take account of such chemical time bombs.