Development of Environmental Risk Assessment Framework and Methodology for Consumer Product Chemicals in China.

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) methodologies for consumer product chemicals are well-established in most developed regions including the United States, Canada, and the European Union. However, such methodologies are not yet fully developed for emerging economies, such as China. The objective of this research was to develop an environmental risk assessment framework involving an exposure methodology using conditions specific to China (i.e., physical setting, infrastructure, and consumers' habits and practice). Incorporated in this newly developed ERA framework for assessing consumer product chemicals were China's current regulatory screening and prioritization schemes as part of a tiered risk assessment approach. The framework started with Tier Zero, which utilized the existing Chinese regulatory qualitative method, whereas Tiers One and Two were quantitative using deterministic and probabilistic methods that accounted for per capita residential water usage, wastewater treatment capability, as well as wastewater/in-stream dilution factors. Due to major differences in wastewater treatment infrastructure and water usage between urban versus rural regions in China, two scenarios were identified for quantitatively assessing environmental exposure: (1) Urban with wastewater treatment, and; (2) Rural without wastewater treatment (i.e., direct-discharge of wastewater). This paper presents the framework methodology with its technical rationales and the companion model Chera, as well as provides an overview of current status of environmental risk assessment research in China. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.