Risk management of chemicals and contaminated land – from planning to verification - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 257

Alternative technologies , substitution by different chemical substances or tech-
nologies are pieces of information needed to make a decision based on the evaluation
of the RMOs and RR possibilities. To find the Best Possible Technology, or an innova-
tive one, which may be better than the former “best one'' needs information technology,
well-organized and structured databases, information sources, professional description
of the technologies or the application cases and references. Amongst alternatives it is
worth mentioning the market alternatives as an efficient way to make management
more efficient. In Europe, the European IPPC Bureau produces reference documents—
called BREFs—on Best Available Techniques. BREFs are the reference documents used
by competent authorities in Member States when issuing operating permits for the
installations that represent a significant pollution potential in Europe. There are about
50,000 such installations in Europe. The corresponding US EPA website contains
64,000 reference documents.

- CatSub: Catalogue of examples of substitution of hazardous chemicals;

- Chemical Economics Handbook;

- Danish EPA: BREF documents;

- Environmental Technologies Action Plan: Database of environmental technologies;

- EU BREF: Reference list;

- EURODEMO: Database on innovative soil remediation technologies;

- Finnish BAT reports;

- IFCS Case studies, examples and tools on substitution: International Forum on

Chemical Safety;

- Ireland BREF documents;

- Patent search: esp@cenet, search engines in all EU languages;

- SOCOPSE: Source Control of Priority Substances in Europe, Decision Support

system;

- SpecialChem: Polymers and Elastomers;

- Sustainable Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals in Germany;

- US EPA Compliance assistance;

- US EPA publications and technical reports.

Methods , uniform methodologies are extremely important to obtain compara-
ble data and information on environmental, health, social and economic impacts of
any production, commerce, spatial planning and contaminated land management,
etc. activities. This data and information should be available and accessible for
decision makers. The methodologies in the area of environmental management, leg-
islation, monitoring, RA, SEA and RR are continuously developing, resulting in a
hard-to-follow situation which requires structuring and updating information in the
field of used, recommended and required methodologies for special purposes. Some
information sources are mentioned here, without attempting to be comprehensive.

- AQUAMONEY: Information on the valuation of aquatic ecosystems;

- CAFE: Health impact assessment: an example;

- CEFIC Facts and Figures: Employment, growth, cost, prices, energy, international

trade R&D;

- Chemical Risk Assessments: Human health effects and exposure;

- Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and the Environment: OECD Recent Developments;