Environnement, Risques & Santé
MENUAcute exposure thresholds in case of accidental emission of chemical substances into the atmosphere: Methodology and main results Volume 3, issue 5, Septembre-Octobre 2004
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- Key words: accident prevention, air pollutants, hazardous substances, risk assessment, toxicity tests.
- Page(s) : 304-10
- Published in: 2004
Effective risk prevention policies require that acute exposure thresholds be set for chemicals that might be accidentally released into the atmosphere. These thresholds should be determined by a methodology that allows a transparent scientific evaluation of the human and animal toxicity data available in the literature. In France, the Ministry of the Environment nominated a panel of expert toxicologists to conduct this evaluation. For each chemical considered, acute thresholds are established for lethal, irreversible, and reversible effects and for exposure durations of 1, 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes. A perception threshold is also suggested. These thresholds are submitted to the National Council for industrial installations for advice and then validated by the Ministry. Since 1999, 13 chemical substances have been assessed: the reports are available on the web sites of INERIS (Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques) and the Ministry of the Environment.