Chemicals and Risk > European Union System for Evaluation of Substances

The standard methodology for environmental risk assessment in Europe is the EUSES software program, which implements the requirements of REACH. The program and documentation can be downloaded free-of-charge from the ECB website at http://ecb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Euses/.

In EUSES, information on the life cycle and releases, physicochemical and fate properties of the substance is use to calculate the Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC). Predicted No effect Concentration (PNEC), i.e the concentration below which toxic effects are not expected, is calculated from ecotoxicological properties of substances. Comparison of PEC and PNEC gives and indication of whether the substance is likely to pose a risk to the environment. (PEC/PNEC ratio greater than or equal to 1 represents a risk to the environment).

Peter Fisk Associates has extensive experience of using the EUSES program over several years, and has contributed to written guidance and training in use of the program.

Images:
Ole Jrrgen Bratland & Gisele Jaquenod
Department APS, University of Sheffield