ASSESSMENT OF THE ATMOSPHERIC HAZARDS AND RISKS OF NEW CHEMICALS - PROCEDURES TO ESTIMATE HAZARD POTENTIALS

Before introduction new chemical substances are evaluated on their potential hazards and risks. Concerning the assessment of atmospheric hazards and risks the direct effects caused by exposure to the new chemicals and indirect effect caused by deposition to soil and surface water are accounted for in assessment systems. However, the potential impact of new chemicals on atmospheric processes is generally not included. In this paper procedures to estimate ''hazard potentials'' to quantify the potential risk of a new substance in atmosphere-related environmental problems are proposed and discussed. In particular, hazard potentials for the following topics are defined: global warming; ozone depletion; photochemical smog formation; acidification and eutrophication. Based on these ''hazard potentials'' atmospheric hazards and risks can be assessed.