Paint--health and environmental risk management

Over the past ten years, concern over the possible health effects of occupational exposure to solvent based paints, as well as more general concerns over the environmental impact of such products, has led to several international workshops. The most recent symposium, convened in Singapore in June 1992, brought together a group of international experts from academic, government and industrial backgrounds. The purpose was twofold: to identify consensus areas related to health and environmental risk assessment of paints, and to describe where further work was necessary to enhance convergence of view. The symposium proved particularly valuable in focusing on issues of current relevance and providing useful guidance for risk management strategies within the industry. The main areas addressed were the general principles and specific processes in risk assessment, organic solvents in the risk assessment process, risk communication, and comparative risks of water-based and solvent-based paints. Each subject area was introduced by a keynote speaker, followed by syndicate discussions and conclusions. To our knowledge this was the first workshop of its kind and we believe it provided a valuable model for the future.