8 – 9 May 2012, Dresden, Germany
What do we want to achieve?
The consortium of RISKCYCLE consists of international, European and national experts and stakeholders from different programmes and organisations.
The primary aim of RISKCYCLE is to identify future R&D needs required to establish a risk-based assessment methodology for chemicals and additives in products that will help reduce animal testing while ensuring the development of new chemicals and product management pattern leading to minimized risks for health and the environment.
Conference Topics
- Flow and emissions of additives – from production to reuse, recycling and waste for the following sectors: textiles, electronics, plastics, leather, paper and lubricants
- Emissions from recycling processes in a circular economy at global scale
- Fate and behaviour of chemical additives in recycling products
- Alternative toxicity testing for additives in products to reduce animal test in line with the objectives of the REACH directive
- Risk assessment methodologies and mitigation strategies for human health and environment related to additives
- Importance of additives in life cycle assessment of textiles, electronics, plastics, leather, paper and lubricants
- Socio-economic aspects relating to environmental and health risks of additives in a circular economy
- Bridging research needs with policy in the field of Risk-Based Management of Chemicals and Products
Background of the project
With regard to life cycle thinking it is important that products undergo a recycling step after their use phase. Unpredictable and not foreseen health and safety problems may result, if the composition and the behaviour of components and additives in recovered materials are unknown. The project is focussing on consequences due to the behaviour of chemicals and additives and their release during recycling of the six fractions: paper, electronics, leather, lubricants, plastics, textiles.
The global trade of chemicals and products containing chemical additives has resulted in a substantial release of harmful substances to the environment with risk to man and nature on a worldwide scale.
The discussion of the assessment and management of chemicals and products at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro led to the creation of the OECD programme Globally Harmonised System of Classification
and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002 encouraged countries to implement the GHS, adopted by UN ECOSOC in July 2003, as soon as possible, with a view of having the system operating by 2008.
The partners joining this action seek to explore the synergies of the research carried out within different programmes and countries of the EU, in Asia and overseas to facilitate the intensified communication with researchers, institutions and industries about the risks of hazardous chemicals and additives in products and risk reduction measures and to improve the dispersion of available information.
The conference will present the results of the project and will invite interested parties to discuss the future needs in this area.
For further information please consult www.wadef.com.
