The scientific evaluation of the hazards of marine bulk liquid transport

In the early 1970s the International Maritime Organization turned to GESAMP - a United Nations expert group - for advice in determining the hazards posed by chemicals, when released into the sea. The subsequent methods developed have been used ever since. The hazard evaluation procedure has been revised 1995 - 1998, now including inter alia aspects of chronic aquatic toxicity and biodegradation. Within this review, the old (existing) and the new (revised) hazard evaluation processes are explained. Reasons for the revisions and some still unresolved aspects are discussed. Severe evaluation problems exist for non-water soluble chemicals, e.g. oils. Hazard evaluations including testing procedures which are enforced for the categorization of bulk liquids are explained.