The age of metals gave way to the age of petrochemicals, which today is giving way to the age of composite materials, semiconductors, microelectronics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. These industries are quite different than from past industries in several significant ways. First, unusual chemical compositions and manufacturing processes are created before the health and environmental implications are fully understood. Second, the pace of these developments is faster than the pace at which health tests can be conducted. Third, new products are developed by a diverse group of small manufacturers that are difficult to identify or monitor. Lastly, only small amounts of these new materials are actually used in final products. The building blocks of advanced products are metals, polymers, ceramics, semiconductors, and biochemicals that are assembled sometimes molecule by molecule using unique processes that may not be automated and may indeed be labor intensive. Some steps in the process involve exotic hazardous materials such as carcinogenic organics, highly toxic gases, and submicron particles (particles whose characteristic dimension is less than one micron, D_p<1 µm) to whose surface highly active organics have been added.

Indoor air pollution involves both familiar pollutants and new materials (gases, vapors, or particles). The deleterious effects of familiar pollutants are well known. Whether new materials produce benign or deleterious effects is generally not known, although experts may anticipate these effects. New materials may not even be subject to regulations. Nevertheless, professional responsibility requires engineers to assess risk in one way or another. The majority of new materials is not invented by Fortune 500 companies but by small entrepreneurial firms that are labor intensive. The number of exposed people is small but the exposure is likely to be a large percentage of their workforce. Often, these firms are the least likely to have personnel whose sole occupational duty is health and safety. Thus thus there are few specialists to call upon as can be called upon in Fortune 500 companies. Lastly, the volatility of these small firms and the mobility of their employees prevent the accuracy of defining the exposed population, which in turn inhibits the accuracy of epidemiological studies.

The greatest barrier to maintaining a safe and healthy environment is the inadequacy of data to estimate the health risk of new materials. For the most part, new materials are not such obvious hazards as pesticides, herbicides, or explosives. In 1984, there were approximately 60,000 chemicals and 2,000,000 mixtures in commercial use. Each year more than 1000 new chemical compounds are synthesized. Most of these materials do not reach the public as end products, but are used as intermediary materials in the production of finished products. These intermediate chemicals are often called chemicals of commerce. Actions presently followed by regulatory agencies are based on the following assumptions:

• Every perceived risk cannot be evaluated at the same time
• Plans must be developed to determine which materials pose the largest potential risk
• The actual risk of materials having the largest potential risk will be determined first

Evidence of risk involves several components. Acute (short-term) hazards are the easiest to diagnose because symptoms are immediate and sometimes dramatic. Toxins such as carcinogens, teratogens, neuropathogens, and mutagens produce the following chronic (long-term) effects and are more difficult to assess:

• Disorders of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and immune systems
• Disorders of the skeletal system, blood, and bone marrow
• Disorders of the skin and mucous membrane
• Hypersensitivity

Assessing risk requires knowledge of the actual amount of material used and the percent discharged to the indoor environment. Merely listing materials that are used can create a false sense of risk. To begin, CAL-IN & COBEAL conduct environmental audits to identify the amount of material procured over a period of time. Then our engineers estimate the amount of material that remains in the product, plus the amount that is removed by waste. The difference between these is assumed to be the amount that escapes to the indoor and outdoor environment. Such audits are mass balances for the process, and can identify the material(s) posing a risk.

Email info@calintec.com for more information on CAL-IN & COBEAL's Environmental Audits.