Risk of Chemicals

Tatsufumi Okino
Chemicals
=

Pollutants?
Toxins?
The LD
50
Values of Secected Chemicals
LD
50
: The lethal dose for 50% of a population
Chemical LD
50

(mg/kg)
Chemical LD
50

(mg/kg)
Sugar 29,700 DDT 100
Ethanol 14,000 Arsenic 48
Vinegar 3,310 Parathion 3.6
Sodium chloride 3,000 Strychnine 2
Atrazine 1,870 Nicotine 1
Malathion 1,200 Aflatoxin-B 0.009
Aspirin 1,000 Dioxin 0.001
Caffeine 130 Botulin toxin 0.00001
Mercury (Minamata disease)
A chemical plant discharged mercury-containing
residues into Minamata Bay. The
methylmercury bioaccumulated especially in fish.
Hundreds of people died from this source since
1950. The target organ for methylmercury is the
brain.
The poisonings at Minamata must surely rank as
one of the major environmental disasters of
modern times (Environmental
Chemistry by Colin Baird and Michael Cann).
Cadmium (itai-itai or ouch-ouch
disease in J intsu River, named in
1955)
Rice was contaminated with dissolved
cadmium from a zinc mining.
Particularly older women contracted a
degenerative bone disease. Some of the
Ca
2+
ions in the bones are replaced by
Cd
2+
ions since they have the same
charge and are virtually the same size.
Arsenic in Drinking Water
Drinking water derived from groundwater
is a major source of arsenic for people in
South Asia. The problem arose from the
creation of tens of millions of tube wells,
which mine ground-water that was
previously inaccessible.
Skin disorders
J ozankei in Sapporo
RoHS Directives
ECA: Electronic Components, Assemblies
& Materials Association
Lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent
chromium, polybrominated biphenyls
(PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDE)
Lead-free
Large household appliances
Small household appliances
IT and telecommunication equipment
Consumer equipment
Lighting equipment
Electrical and electronic tools
Toys (including leisure and sports equipment)
Automatic dispensers

(solder)


End Use of Lead in USA
http://minerals.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/lead-use.pdf

REACH
Registration, Evaluation and Authorization
of Chemicals
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
Substances in quantities of 1 tone or more
The Overall Aims of REACH
Protection of human health and the environment
Maintenance and enhancement of the
competitiveness of the EU chemical industry
Prevention of fragmentation of the internal
market
Increased transparency
Integration with international efforts
Promotion of non-animal testing
Conformity with EU international obligations
under the WTO.
EU Policy on the Environment
CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE
TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITY
Article 174:
1. Community policy on the environment shall
contribute to pursuit of the following objectives:
preserving, protecting and improving the
quality of the environment,
protecting human health,
prudent and rational utilization of natural
resources,
promoting measures at international level to
deal with regional or worldwide environmental
EU Policy on the Environment
Article 174:
2. Community policy on the environment shall
aim at a high level of protection taking into
account the diversity of situations in the various
regions of the Community. It shall be based on
the precautionary principle and on the
principles that preventive action should be taken,
that environmental damage should as a priority
be rectified at source and that the polluter
should pay.

Evaluation and Regulation of
Chemical Substances in J apan
Chemical Substances Control Law
New chemical substance
Planned manufacture or import
(nationwide) totals over 1 tonne/year
Established after PCB issue
PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyls
Are widely used as coolants and insulating fluids
for transformers and capacitors
Are not acutely toxic to humans
Probable human carcinogen
Persistency and bioaccumulation
Yusho disease (oil disease) in 1968, J apan
About 14,000 people who had consumed the
contaminated rice oil were affected
Chemical Substances Control
Law
Biodegradability
Bioaccumulation
Long-term toxicity for humans
Toxicity for plants and animals
Deaths per 100,000 population
Risk Table by Prof. Yasui
Starvation (in the world) 1460
Smoking (smoker) 365
Cancer 250
Obesity 140
Cardiac disease 127
Alcohol 117
Suicide 24
Carcinogen on the job 17
Traffic accident 9
http://www.yasuienv.net/RiskTableWhy.htm (in J apanese)
Deaths per 100,000 population
Risk Table by Prof. Yasui
Harmful substances 0.3
Natural disaster 0.1
Food poisoning 0.004
Residual agricultural chemicals 0.002
Food additive 0.0002
BSE 0.0000001
Risk : a practical guide for deciding
what's really safe and what's really
dangerous in the world around you
/ David Ropeik and George Gray

Accident
Alcohol
Diesel Emissions
Environmental tobacco smokes
Motor Vehicles
Nuclear Power, X-ray, Mad Cow Disease,
Asbestos, Foodborne Illness, Genetically
Modified Food etc
Trends of Malaria in South East Asia Region
(1948-2004)
million
IRS: Indoor Residual Spraying
DDT
IRS (Indoor Residual Spraying)
Why IRS had not been
recommended until 2009?
EU Policy on the Environment
Article 174:
2. Community policy on the environment shall
aim at a high level of protection taking into
account the diversity of situations in the various
regions of the Community. It shall be based on
the precautionary principle and on the
principles that preventive action should be taken,
that environmental damage should as a priority
be rectified at source and that the polluter
should pay.

LD
50
of toxins (g/kg weight)
Botulinum toxin 0.00003(mouse)
0.01 (human)
Maitotoxin (ciguatera) 0.05 (mouse)
Ciguatoxin 0.35 (mouse)
2,3,7,8-TCDD (dioxine) 0.6-20 (marmot)
100-3000(mouse)
Saxitoxin (shellfish toxin) 0.7 (human)
Tetrodotoxin (puffer toxin) 8 (mouse)
10-40 (human)
Sarin 200 (human)
Aflatoxin B1 (mycotoxin) 300 (human)
Potassium cyanide 3000 (human)
Ex-primier and president-candidate
of Ukraina
Mr. Yushchenko
LD
50
of toxins (g/kg weight)
Botulinum toxin 0.00003(mouse)
0.01 (human)
Maitotoxin (ciguatera) 0.05 (mouse)
Ciguatoxin 0.35 (mouse)
2,3,7,8-TCDD (dioxine) 0.6-20 (marmot)
100-3000(mouse)
Saxitoxin (shellfish toxin) 0.7 (human)
Tetrodotoxin (puffer toxin) 8 (mouse)
10-40 (human)
Sarin 200 (human)
Aflatoxin B1 (mycotoxin) 300 (human)
Potassium cyanide 3000 (human)
Dioxins
A family of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins
Dioxins are not made intentionally, but are
formed as contaminants in several large-
scale processes, including combustion,
paper pulp bleaching with chlorine and
manufacture of certain chlorophenol
chemicals.
Issues for Discussion
Discuss which chemical is required the
most regulatory control for environmental
reasons.
Should the precautionary principle be
applied for regulation of chemicals?
Discuss an optimum chemical
management style.