RICARDO DEVELOPS TOOL TO IMPROVE THE ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICAL PERSISTENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Ricardo has developed a first-of-its-kind Persistence Assessment Tool to provide manufacturers and importers of chemical substances and products, regulators, and the scientific community with support and guidance to undertake complex persistence assessments of chemicals in the environment. The tool has been developed by Ricardo and is sponsored by Concawe and the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS), with support from the Cefic Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI) and the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC). You can download the tool here.

Increased awareness around issues of chemical persistence, including global plastic pollution and the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or ‘forever chemicals’ in the environment has triggered numerous global policy initiatives. Most notably the European Union’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability has proposed new measures for persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) substances, and introduced requirements to carry out persistence assessments under the classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) regulation. More regulatory measures have created dual challenges for the global chemicals industry: first, the significantly higher demands for chemical biodegradation testing and persistence assessments; and second, the fact that these assessments are highly complex and full of challenges, with notable gaps in available guidance.

Ricardo’s software-based Persistence Assessment Tool is addressing both these issues by providing a structured and clear methodology to systematically capture and store information on persistence; evaluate data quality; carry out a robust and transparent weight of evidence determination; and assess persistence in line with global regulatory frameworks. The tool is the product of Ricardo’s decades of experience assessing biodegradation and persistence of chemicals.