technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
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ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT<br />
report the grounds on which the extrapolation has been done. It may be possible to extrapolate<br />
some aspects but not others, <strong>for</strong> example emission factors (on the basis of similar processes) but<br />
not effluent flows (on the basis of differing sizes of site). If no such extrapolation can be<br />
justified, then the modelling approach described in the TGD should be followed <strong>for</strong> the (group<br />
of) site(s).<br />
For new substances, a generic assessment would normally be conducted. However, there may be<br />
circumstances where environmental exposure <strong>for</strong> some life-cycle stages is limited to specific<br />
sites (e.g. production of chemicals, processing of intermediates etc). It may, there<strong>for</strong>e, be<br />
adequate to carry out a site-specific risk assessment only, if the Competent Authority (CA) is<br />
satisfied that such specific in<strong>for</strong>mation will enable a full evaluation of the risks. In such cases, it<br />
is the responsibility of the notifier to provide site-specific data <strong>and</strong> to show that the available<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation is valid <strong>for</strong> the sites being assessed. The risk assessment should make clear that a<br />
site-specific assessment has been conducted. In these cases, the notifier is obliged to confirm in<br />
writing that they will in<strong>for</strong>m the CA of any relevant changes, which may affect the risk<br />
assessment conducted. The CA should confirm details of the assessment not later than two years<br />
after completion of the risk assessment, <strong>and</strong> at any subsequent tonnage trigger, or as deemed<br />
necessary. The CA should distribute relevant in<strong>for</strong>mation appropriately.<br />
It should be noted that the site-specific risk assessment is not based on a detailed <strong>and</strong><br />
complete description of the environmental conditions. The aim is to estimate environmental<br />
concentrations that are reasonably applicable <strong>for</strong> a European-level risk assessment. Some<br />
site-specific data may be used to replace the default data characterising the st<strong>and</strong>ard scenario.<br />
For measured data, the reliability of the available data has to be assessed as a first step.<br />
Subsequently, it must be established how representative the data are of the general emission<br />
situation. Section 2.2 provides <strong>guidance</strong> on how to per<strong>for</strong>m this critical evaluation of measured<br />
data. For model calculations, the procedure to derive an exposure level should be made<br />
transparent. The parameters <strong>and</strong> default values used <strong>for</strong> the calculations must be documented. If<br />
different models are available to describe an exposure situation, the best model <strong>for</strong> the specific<br />
substance <strong>and</strong> scenario should be used <strong>and</strong> the choice should be explained. If a model is chosen<br />
which is not described in this document, that model should be explained <strong>and</strong> the choice justified.<br />
Section 2.3 discusses modelling in detail. Section 2.5 gives further advice on critical comparison<br />
between calculated <strong>and</strong> measured PECs.<br />
2.1.2 Relationship between PEClocal <strong>and</strong> PECregional<br />
For the release estimation of substances, a distinction is usually made between substances that<br />
are emitted through point sources at specific locations <strong>and</strong> substances that enter the environment<br />
through diffuse releases. Point source releases have a major impact on the environmental<br />
concentration on a local scale (PEClocal) <strong>and</strong> also contribute to the environmental<br />
concentrations on a larger scale (PECregional).<br />
When determining a PEC <strong>for</strong> new substances at base-set level, or at the 10 tonnes per annum<br />
production level, Annex III, paragraph 3.4 of Directive 93/67 <strong>for</strong>esees that such estimates will<br />
usually focus on the generic local environment to which releases may occur. In the case of<br />
persistent <strong>and</strong>/or highly toxic chemicals, however, a regional assessment may still be relevant at<br />
low tonnages. There<strong>for</strong>e, derivation of a PECregional is required, unless it can be justified that a<br />
regional assessment is not relevant <strong>for</strong> the substance at these low tonnages.<br />
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