Earlier this week my colleague, Cassie, wrote about an OSHA tool to help you assess hazards in the workplace. But how do you determine the hazards associated with one of your products? Or, if you already know a product is more hazardous than expected, what can you do about it? The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ad Hoc Group on Substitution of Harmful Chemicals has put together a toolbox to help.
The OECD Substitution and Alternatives Assessment Toolbox is a compilation of a wealth of resources to help you assess chemical hazards and determine possible alternatives. It is separated into four categories:
- Alternatives assessment framework
- Alternatives assessment tool selector
- Case studies
- Regulations & restrictions.
The Framework page includes a list of organizations that have developed guides “in response to regulations of chemical substances and stakeholder interest in having consistent approaches to evaluate alternatives.” The focus methodologies and chemical attributes of each organization differ.
As their names imply, the Case Studies and Regulations & Restrictions pages include descriptions of assessments previously conducted by companies or organizations, and lists of restricted substances (and the laws/regulations related to those substances) within the OECD countries.
The Tool Selector will help you choose appropriately from 37 listed sites that can assess chemical hazards, and in some cases, recommend chemical alternatives. Don’t have a scientific background? Need a site available in a language that’s not English? Are you only interested in ecotoxicity levels? The tool filters the sites to let you know which will best suit your needs.
If you use the toolbox, let us know how it goes! We’d love to hear which tool is your favorite – or conversely, which one you’ll never use again.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
