Chemical risk management strategies for product stewardship and community partnership

With the recent enactments of the environment, health and safety statutes, the once protective walls of an industrial facility are opening to the scrutiny of an inquisitive public. Indeed, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Process Safety Management under OSHA 1910.119, and Title III of the Clean Air Act Amendments impose substantial reporting requirements under the auspices of community right to know'' and require written program plans that must be submitted to become public documents. Through these Acts, the public and industry are becoming partners in the understanding and management of human health and environmental risks posed by the chemical inventories, processes, and emissions from an industrial facility. The types of information required by the Act to be available to the public can include quantities, locations, process throughputs, environmental fates, and emissions volumes of manufacturer-specific chemicals for certain industrial facilities. With their implementation of compliance measures with these requirements, industrial facilities have an opportunity to become a public educator about the chemicals they use in the process of making their products. By proactively soliciting a partnership with communities to learn about their concerns, companies can more effectively communicate risks to the public and provide a new kind ofmore » stewardship to their products.« less