Climate change and chemical safety: the problem

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Climate change and chemical safety the problem

• Role of Engineering Toward a Better Environment
• Global Environmental changes challenges and
  opportunities
• 20-22 Dec 2008, Alexandria, Egypt
• H.A.M. de Kruijf
• PUM, Netherlands Senior Experts
• UNITAR, United Nations Institute for Training and
  research

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• This presentation is primarily based on the
  brochure
• MANAGING CHEMICALS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE TO
  PROTECT HEALTH (April 2008), and the accompanying
  presentation of IFCS, The Intergovernmental Forum
  on Chemical Safety
• author and contributors
• Katherine Shea
• Lilian Corra
• Jenny Pronczuk
• Marie-Noel Brune
• Photographs, unless otherwise indicated by the
  author

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Climate change and Chemical safetyintroductory
remarks

• The threat of accelerating climate change may
  significantly alter global and local development,
  and thus may also change use, distribution and
  degradation of chemicals in ways that could
  affect human health and environment.
• Little has been published up to now addressing
  issues of climate change and chemical safety, in
  short the possible risks associated with climate
  change and chemicals.

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Climate change and Chemical safety introductory
remarks

• In the following presentations we explore
• How climate change may alter human and
  environmental exposure to chemicals
• Identify who may be particularly at risk of
  adverse effects
• Suggest actions that can be taken now to reduce
  adverse impacts on human health and environment
  (by chemicals) or better questions that should
  be raised to identify those actions!

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Climate change and Chemical safety introductory
remarks

• Climate change is more than a warming trend
• Increasing temperatures will lead to changes in
  many aspects of weather, such as winds patterns,
  amount and type precipitation, type and frequency
  of severe weather events
• Global sea level could rise, causing damage to
  coastal regions through flooding and erosion
• Climate of various regions could change too
  quickly for many plants and animal species to
  adjust.
• Harsh weather conditions , e.g. heat waves and
  droughts, could also happen more often and more
  severely

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Climate change and Chemical safety introductory
remarks

• Climate change could affect human health,
  environmental health and well-being e.g.
• Many larger cities could experience a significant
  rise in the number of hot days
• Air pollution problems would increase, placing
  children, the elderly and people suffering from
  respiratory problems at greatest risks of health
  effects
• Molds and pollens may increase causing
  respiratory problems
• The effects on human exposure will vary widely
  according to the properties of specific chemicals
  and chemical combinations

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Temperature changes
precipitation
floods
Erosion, run-off droughts
Model to calculate distribution of chemicals
towards an equilibrium Where does CC intervene,
have an impact? (adapted from EUSES)
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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Climate change may alter human chemical
  exposure by changing how chemicals move and
  transform in the environment
• Some examples of how these interactions may
  affect human exposures due to

Extreme precipitation, storms and floods threaten
water quality Drought threatens water
quality Increased temperatures
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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may alter human chemical exposure by changing
how chemicals move and transform in the
environment
Examples

• Extreme precipitation, storms and floods threaten
  water quality
• By increasing urban and agricultural run-off of
  petrochemicals, industrial chemicals, chemical
  waste, pesticides and fertilizers into surface
  waters or enhanced through-put of supersaturated
  soil into groundwater flooding of warehouses and
  old stockpiles of chemicals such as paints,
  solvents, pesticides will lead to potentially
  dangerous exposure situations

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may alter human chemical exposure by changing
how chemicals move and transform in the
environment
From internet

• Drought threatens water quality by concentration
  of non-volatile chemicals and toxic metals in
  drinking water resources.
• When rain comes, parched and cracked soil may
  permit rapid transit of chemicals into
• deep groundwater stores.

Examples
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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may alter human chemical exposure by changing
how chemicals move and transform in the
environment
Examples

• Increased temperatures
• will cause volatile chemicals to disperse more
  quickly in the air and some chemicals will
  degrade more quickly potentially creating local
  hot spots of exposure.
• Evaporation will be enhanced leaving non-volatile
  chemicals to concentrate in water bodies.
• Global movement of persistent chemicals will be
  modified with changes in global water and air
  currents, and thus population exposures will also
  change.

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Climate change and Chemical safety
Effect of the effect of volatility on
transportation distance of POPs CC will
seriously and unpredictably change these patterns
Most volatile
Moderately volatile
Least volatile
Global movement of persistent chemicals will be
modified with changes in global water and air
currents, and thus population exposures will also
change.
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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Climate change may alter human chemical
  exposure by changing where and how chemicals are
  used
• Chemicals can be critical tools in the global
  response to climate change, but
• when the world warms, chemical use patterns will
  likely change in several sectors and affect human
  exposure levels as well as environmental exposure
  levels.

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Climate change may alter human chemical
  exposure by changing where and how chemicals are
  used
• Agricultural chemicals
• CC may require changes in crop choice and lead
  to a perceived or actual
• need to use more, different
• or new chemicals to combat
• pests

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may alter human chemical exposure by changing
where and how chemicals are used

• Example
• Agricultural chemicals
• Pesticides may lose effectiveness
• or be more rapidly broken down in
• warmer temperatures which could
• lead to more frequent use and more
• human and environmental exposure

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may alter human chemical exposure by changing
where and how chemicals are used

• Control of infectious disease
• Increases in vector-borne diseases anticipated
  with climate change could stimulate more
  widespread use of a variety of pesticides to
  control insect, rodent and other disease vectors
• Pharmaceutical use to treat these diseases is
  also likely to increase and further threaten
  water quality by stressing waste water treatment
  and downstream drinking water resources.

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Climate change and Chemical safety
Example of increase in vector-borne disease and
geographical movement the case of bluetongue
The vector Culicoides sp. sucking blood
Bluetongue is a virus disease (reo viruses) among
cows, sheep, goats, etc transmitted by
Culicoides species. Since a few years, due to
warming of the climate the disease does now
occur above the 50th latitude. This means new
regimes for vaccination, eradication , and use
of chemicals
The virus computer model of bluetongue virus
From NRC Handelsblad, 01-12-2008
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Climate change and Chemical safety Climate
change may alter human chemical exposure by
changing where and how chemicals are used

• Alternative energy sources developed and
  disseminated to stabilize the climate have the
  potential to cause large changes in chemical use
  patterns
• for example, the change to
• bio-fuels and use of waste as
• fuels could results in new
• sources of chemical
• contamination on a large
• scale.
• (And there is the question of
• water versus energy!)

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Climate change may make some chemicals more
  dangerous
• Ecosystem services some plant and animal
  species are more vulnerable to heat-related harm
  if they have prior exposure to various chemicals
  or are more vulnerable to chemical
• exposure when stressed by the
• changing climate.

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may make some chemicals more dangerous

• Climate Change may give a push to invasive
  plants
• Due to CC more invasive plants may be seen in
  more temperate zones (and there are already
  examples)
• These invasive plants appear to be more
  resistant to local plagues thus may more quickly
  turn out to be a plague themselves! And thus may
  well become a very serious threat to local
  biodiversity and water resources. This may lead
  to additional
• use of pesticides causing risks for man and
• environment.

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may make some chemicals more dangerous

• Ecosystem services
• It is possible that the adverse impact of CC on
• the ecosystems that provide us with food,
• fiber and useful chemicals could
• be greater in a warmer global
• environment!

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may make some chemicals more dangerous

• Increased toxicity
• Increased ambient temperatures may have direct
  impact on toxicity levels in exposed humans
• Evidence from medicine (chemicals and fever),
  drugs and temperature)
• Impact on developmental toxicity

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Climate change and Chemical safetyClimate change
may make some chemicals more dangerous

• Well described increased toxicity of chemicals in
  higher ambient temperatures under experimental
  conditions

It is not clear that this relationship will
dominate in the complex world of multiple
stressors, but it does support the arguments to
minimize all chemical exposures as we seek to
meet the challenges of a warming world.
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Climate change and Chemical safetySome groups
are more vulnerableBecause of inherent
characteristics..

• Age and general health affect any
• individuals ability to withstand harm
• from a variety of chemical exposures.
• some groups at increased risks are
• Foetuses
• Children
• Elderly people
• Medical illness

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Climate change and Chemical safety Some groups
are more vulnerableBecause of inherent
characteristics..
Foetuses are susceptible to permanent harms from
even brief exposures in utero as might happen
after a water Contamination event such as a
flood, or a high dose exposure From pesticide
spraying
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Climate change and Chemical safety Some groups
are more vulnerableBecause of inherent
characteristics..

• High risk children
• In developing countries where water and food
  scarcity cause wide spread malnutrition
• Where CC will cause increased vector-borne
  diseases (e.g. malaria)
• Where agriculture will require high chemical
  inputs
• Where children working at jobs with potential
  high exposures agriculture, rag
• picking, recycling (batteries,
• waste etc)

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Climate change and Chemical safety Some groups
are more vulnerableBecause of inherent
characteristics..

• Elderly people may have lost the physical ability
  to avoid exposure and/or the physiologic
  capacity to withstand exposures that
• may have been in younger
• years relatively non-toxic.

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Climate change and Chemical safetySome groups
are more vulnerable .because of
circumstances

• Poverty limits adaptive responses
• to both climate change and chemical
• exposures.
• Malnutrition, particularly in the very
• young, may compound and worsen
• effects from any toxic chemical
• exposure

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Some groups are more vulnerable
• because of circumstances
• Geography is a major determinant of which
  health threats from climate change are most
  likely, and places entire populations at
  increased risk.

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Example
• low lying coastal communities are more
  susceptible to floods and storms which may be
• complicated by chemical contamination of
  drinking water, fields, food crops, and living
  spaces

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Some groups are more vulnerable
• ..because of circumstances
• Occupations that involve the use of chemicals,
  such as agricultural work, may be increasingly
  risky because of increased chemical use,
• change in chemicals used
• and rapid development
• of new chemicals

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Some groups are more vulnerable
• ..because of circumstances
• Public Health infrastructure, including the
  health care systems, as well s chemical safety
  laws, regulations, surveillance and enforcement,
  are critical to minimizing injury and illness
  related to CC and chemical exposures.
• In those areas where these basic services are
  lacking, whole populations are at increased risk.

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• THE FUTURE
• Lots of questions but answers????

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Climate change and chemical safety the future

• Role of Engineering Toward a Better Environment
• Global Environmental changes challenges and
  opportunities
• 20-22 Dec 2008, Alexandria, Egypt
• H.A.M. de Kruijf
• PUM, UNITAR

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Starting statements
• We need all tools to respond to Climate Change
  this includes existing and new chemicals as well
  as non-chemical alternatives
• Protecting human health and particularly the
  health of those who are most vulnerable, must be
  central part of all climate adaptive strategies
  including chemical use and management
• As climate change accelerates and we feel the
  urgent need to both reduce emissions and respond
  to public health threats, it is critical that we
  do not loose sight of the need to strengthen and
  improve systems to ensure chemical safety.

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Climate change and Chemical safety
QUESTIONS!!!! (1)

• When considering any climate-related problem, a
  number of questions relevant to the use of an
  additional chemical for any reason should be
  answered
• Will using a chemical solve this problem?
• What is known about the toxicity and exposure to
  the most vulnerable humans?
• What is known about the potential harm to
  ecosystem services?
• Are there non-chemical solutions for this
  problem?
• Are there multiple chemicals that could be used
  to solve the problem?

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Ecological Risk Assessment
Discussion Between the Risk assessor And Risk
manager (Planning)
PROBLEM FORMULATION
Characterization of ecological effects
Characterization of exposure
Data Acquisition verification and monitoring
ANALYSIS
A systematic approach is necessary to study this
sort of problems, such the ecological
risk assessment system Suter, 2007
RISK CHARACTERIZATION
Discussion between the Risk assessor and Risk
Manager (Results)
UNESCO-IHE module on Aquatic toxicology
Risk Management
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Climate change and Chemical safety
QUESTIONS!!!! (2)

• Is there equivalent information on toxicity and
  exposure for each alternative?
• Which is least toxic?
• What are relative toxicities and efficacies of
  the viable solutions?
• What is unique about the location, geography,
  topography, level of development, or population
  characteristics which will affect movement and
  breakdown of the chemical under consideration?
• What are critical human exposures likely to be?

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Climate change and Chemical safety
QUESTIONS!!!! (3)

• Can chemical use be minimized or eliminated over
  time through alternative management strategies?
• Will use of this chemical create new or
  persistent problems for human health or ecosystem
  integrity?
• Do we have adequate chemical safety and
  management systems in place?
• Will the changing climate increase or decrease
  human exposure, or make this chemical more or
  less effective or toxic over time?

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Climate change and Chemical safety
We can not say
or
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Climate change and Chemical safety

• What could be your role in the prevention of such
  hazards? Develop, work on..
• Measures to decrease or lower the rate of climate
  change!
• Measures to adapt to the new and predicted
  changes water resources management, waste
  management, chemicals management (industry,
  agriculture, pharmaceuticals) etc!
• Measures to prevent negative health effects on
  humans, on the environment!
• Measures that develop innovative new
  constructions where necessary !
• Techniques for a better balance between use of
  limited water resources and energy production!

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Climate change and Chemical safety
I Identify the problem
II Develop risk reduction goals
VI Implement and evaluate
To develop strategies to solve or at least try to
solve these Problems, one could use a so-called
Risk Reduction Strategy Model as developed and
applied by UNITAR
Involve interested and affected parties
III Identify and evaluate options
V Double check
IV Select risk reduction strategy
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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Although the relation between climate change and
  chemical safety has received little attention,
  developing ideas and working on these issues are
  part of an international agreement Strategic
  Approach to International Chemicals Management
  (SAICM).
• SAICM is a global policy framework to support
  efforts to achieve the Johannesburg Plan of
  Implementation goal that, by 2020, chemicals
  should be produced and used in ways that lead to
  the minimization of significant adverse effects
  on human health and the environment. (and that
  includes of course CC and chemical safety!)

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• The Dubai declaration on International Chemicals
  Management and the accompanying Over Arching
  Policy Strategy (Feb 2006) identify key elements
  of chemical safety which will be increasingly
  important within the context of global climate
  change.
• The declaration stresses the need to protect
  vulnerable populations (including children and
  unborn children), promote green chemistry, and
  operate within a context of transparency,
  partnership, and accountability among all sectors
  of society.
• In particular there is a call for public access
  to appropriate information and knowledge on
  chemicals throughout their life cycle, including
  the risks that they pose to human health and the
  environment.

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Risk reduction to minimize significant adverse
  effects on human health and the environment is
  the first strategic objective How? By pollution
  prevention, precaution, life cycle analysis, and
  promotion of environmentally sound and safer
  chemical and non-chemical alternatives are all
  enumerated as strategies. (using e.g. Life Cycle
  Analysis, LCA)
• Additional areas of action include optimization
  of knowledge and information, governance,
  capacity building and technical cooperation.
• As work progresses to improve chemical management
  from the local to the international level, the
  changes in chemical risk associated with
  accelerating global climate change must be
  placed permanently on the agenda.

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RAW MATERIALS
LIFE CYCLE OF A CHEMICAL
Production
intermediates
non-isolated
SUBSTANCE 1
Processing on site
Life cycle of a chemical substance. Emissions
to the environment can occur at any point in
this cycle. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. 9 (1) 292,
2004
Isolation
isolated
Processing off site
Formulation
SUBSTANCE 2
Industrial use
Private use
Processing processing aid
Processing product
Processing in product
Processing processing aid
Use of product, articles
Use of product, articles
Recovery
Waste
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Climate change and Chemical safety

• In the past many chemicals have been used without
  sufficient knowledge and consideration of the
  cost to human health and ecosystem function.
• Even now, capacities and capabilities of many
  countries to protect their citizens from the
  potential adverse effects of chemicals and
  soundly manage the use of chemicals, are
  inadequate facing the new and expanded problems
  posed by climate change, these countries most
  certainly will be additionally challenged.

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• Information and training will be needed to ensure
  the sound management and use of newly developed
  chemicals, or existing chemicals in new locations
  and applications specifically under the new
  uncertain circumstances (CC).
• Targeted research and application of a
  precautionary approach are essential to protect
  human health and ecosystem integrity from harm as
  we strive for a sustainable world especially
  considering the challenges by the Climate Change
  

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Climate change and Chemical safety

• THANK YOU!!
• References can be found in the
• indicated brochure as well as on
• the website of IFCS
• www.ifcs.ch

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