The ESTHER Approach to Environmental Hazard Assessment of Chemicals

Summary

The whole process aimed at taking administrative decisions on chemicals, e. g., decisions on whether or not a chemical should be subject to control, involves a great number of steps, some of which must be based on scientific data. The position of chemical testing and hazard assessment in this decision-making process is discussed and various approaches to the assessment of chemicals, at different levels of sophistication, are suggested. It is considered pertinent to make a clear distinction between the “initial” and the “advanced” assessment of the environmental hazard of chemicals, and the scope and aims of an advanced assessment for the aquatic environment are developed in some detail. In this context, the importance of defining the targets of exposure is pointed out, because this is often crucial for designing a manageable testing program as a basis for the advanced level of assessment.