Publications > Hernando et al
Environmental Risk Assessment of Emerging Pollutants in Water: Approaches Under Horizontal and Vertical EU Legislation
Resumen
In Europe, under the framework of environmental legislation, various protocols have been developed for assessing the environmental risk of chemicals. For the ?new chemicals,? environmental risk assessment (ERA) was introduced at 1980s. A decade later, pharmaceuticals were considered in the discussion for further ERA studies. Pesticides and biocides undergo a rigorous assessment following Directives 91/414/EEC and 98/8/EC. Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) is the most important development in this field. REACH covers nanotechnology-based materials, but present methodologies may not be appropriate. The authors give a critical overview of the approaches under European water legislation, which cover the ERA frameworks for emerging contaminants.