Evaluating the hazards of harmful substances carried by ships: The role ofGESAMP and its EHS working group

GESAMP's EHS working group, evaluation of the hazards(2) of harmful substan ces carried by ships, contributed in the early 1970s to the chemical carria ge provisions (Annexes II and III) of the MARPOL Convention, and after form al setup in 1974 under IMCO/IMO, has evaluated the hazards of approximately 2200 chemical substances transported worldwide by shipping. Hazard ratings for chemicals based on five criteria: bioaccumulation in marine organisms and tainting of seafood; damage to marine life defined by aquatic toxicity thresholds; acute hazard to human health, defined by oral intake; hazard to human health on the basis of skin or eye contact; and reduction of ameniti es, have been assigned by the working group experts (30 scientists from 11 countries overall). The ratings are used by IMO committees to assign marine pollution categories under MARPOL 73/78, ensuring that shipping of chemica ls in bulk or as packaged goods is conducted with due consideration for shi p type, guidelines for discharges from tank cleaning and deballasting opera tions, packaging and labeling and response during accidents or loss. Since 1995, the working group has reviewed and revised its hazard criteria, and l argely harmonized them with OECD. This will ensure compatibility of criteri a and approaches across transport sectors. The criteria now include two mea sures of bioaccumulation, biodegradation, chronic toxicity to aquatic organ isms, additional human health endpoints, and effects on marine wildlife and benthic habitats. The working group maintains a composite list of evaluati ons of hazards of harmful substances at IMO, London. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.