Emerging Issues in Product Stewardship

The Product Stewardship Committee has concentrated on a number of critical areas and issues during the last decade. These have included:

• Hazard Identification and Hazard Communication: In the past the primary focus of the group tended to be achieving and maintaining compliance with the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. In the early days of the Standard, the concern of industry was determining the requirements of this "performance based" standard. The Committee’s focus was to provide support for those Industrial Hygienists who found themselves in this unique niche.

• International Focus: as companies have become increasingly global over the last decade, the issues regarding product safety and health have become much more complex. To assist those who are directly involved with global product related issues, the Product Stewardship Committee has been involved in an annual symposium that deals with international hazard communication. This symposium is jointly sponsored by AIHA and the Society of Chemical Hazard Communication (SCHC), and is typically held in conjunction with the SCHC Fall Meeting.

• Other Product Regulations: Another aspect dealt with in the past has included the advent of other product related regulations, in particular the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These regulations came about as means to control the manufacture, distribution, use and disposal of materials thought to pose a threat to health and the environment. As with the Hazard Communication Standard, the committee provided assistance to those involved in maintaining compliance with these regulations.

It is the consensus of the Product Stewardship Committee that the next decade will include continuing work on maintaining compliance with the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and other product related regulations, both domestically and internationally. We also foresee the need to address several additional concerns that are emerging from a desire to go beyond basic compliance and a need to address health, safety and environmental concerns through more proactive means. As demands for global products increases, the complexities and requirements on those products also increase. It is becoming apparent that the traditional "end-of-pipe" controls will no longer prove to be adequate. New ways of addressing product safety and health related issues are necessary to meet the increasing needs and demands of workers, customers and, ultimately, society. These emerging issues include:

• Product Stewardship: One of the ways industry, particularly the Chemical Industry, is addressing the broader demands placed on products is through Product Stewardship. The basic premise of Product Stewardship is to make health, safety and environmental protection an integral part of all phases of the life cycle of a product. Traditionally, controls have been placed after the fact; Product Stewardship now tries to insert health, safety and environmental concepts throughout the life cycle, especially at the beginning in the design phase. By reducing, or eliminating the impact of a product on health, safety and the environment at the initial stages of the product development, safer products are produced, avoiding possible use and disposal restrictions in the long run.

• High Production Volume Testing / Endocrine Disruption / Children’s Health Issues: These are all examples of issues that are emerging as more emphasis is being put on the use, and misuse, of products. Each of these initiatives will affect companies that produce, and use, chemicals in the course of their manufacturing processes. The High Production Volume Initiative is a joint effort on the part of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chemical Manufacturers Association, and others, where producers of high volume chemicals volunteer to perform toxicology testing on their products. The necessary testing will be identified and performed over the course of the next few years. Concerns over endocrine disruption and children’s health issues are also increasing and will, no doubt, be the focus of a number of our committee members for the next few years.

• ISO 14000: To effectively implement successful HSE and Product Stewardship programs they should be part of an integrated overall management system. This has been demonstrated in the Quality area through the success of the ISO 9000 Standard. The next ISO Standard to be addressed by Industry is an environmental standard known as ISO 14000, and is quickly becoming widely accepted by Industry. As companies increasingly choose to follow the ISO 14000 requirements, many Industrial Hygienists will be involved in the development and implementation of such projects.

• Sustainable Development: Sustainable Development is an increasingly popular concept that is attracting attention from a variety of sources worldwide. Sustainable Development promotes the belief that humanity has the ability to make development sustainable. In other words, humanity must make sure that it meets current demands and needs of society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. With the involvement of Product Stewardship in the product life cycle, it is likely that Stewardship will be key in moving industry towards the development of sustainable products and technologies.

Role of the Industrial Hygienist

Traditionally, the role of the IH has been, for the most part, within the confines of a facility, typically, the manufacturing stage of the life cycle. With the broader focus of Product Stewardship, the role of the IH will continue to expand. With a more product-based approach the IH will have to expand their knowledge base to manage the broader HSE issues that will be encountered. Concepts such as Life Cycle Assessment, Eco-efficiency and strategic planning will all have to be added to the more traditional IH concepts already in use by Industrial Hygienists worldwide.