Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Applied Geochemistry Solutions, 49 School Lane, Chalfont St. Peter, Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 9AZ, UK.
Environ Int. 2014 Jul;68:1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.02.012. Epub 2014 Mar 28.
Many of the chemicals used in industry can be hazardous to human health and the environment, and some formulations can have undisclosed ingredients and hazards, increasing the uncertainty of the risks posed by their use. The need for a better understanding of the extent of undisclosed information in chemicals arose from collecting data on the hazards and exposures of chemicals used in typical mining operations (copper, platinum and coal). Four main categories of undisclosed chemicals were defined (incomplete disclosure; chemicals with unspecific identities; relative quantities of ingredients not stated; and trade secret ingredients) by reviewing material safety data sheet (MSDS) omissions in previous studies. A significant number of chemicals (20% of 957 different chemicals) across the three sites had a range of undisclosed information, with majority of the chemicals (39%) having unspecific identities. The majority of undisclosed information was found in commercially available motor oils followed by cleaning products and mechanical maintenance products, as opposed to reagents critical to the main mining processes. All three types of chemicals had trade secrets, unspecific chemical identities and incomplete disclosures. These types of undisclosed information pose a hindrance to a full understanding of the hazards, which is made worse when combined with additional MSDS omissions such as acute toxicity endpoints (LD50) and/or acute aquatic toxicity endpoints (LC50), as well as inadequate hazard classifications of ingredients. The communication of the hazard information in the MSDSs varied according to the chemical type, the manufacturer and the regulations governing the MSDSs. Undisclosed information can undermine occupational health protection, compromise the safety of workers in industry, hinder risk assessment procedures and cause uncertainty about future health. It comes down to the duty of care that industries have towards their employees. With a wide range of chemicals increasingly used, there is a balance that needs to be reached between disclosure requirements, trade secret provisions and definitions of hazardous ingredients for market needs, and the information required to protect the health of their workers.
许多用于工业的化学物质对人类健康和环境都有危害，而且有些配方含有未公开的成分和危害，这增加了其使用所带来风险的不确定性。之所以需要更好地了解化学品中未公开信息的程度，是因为要收集在典型采矿作业（铜、铂和煤）中使用的化学品的危害和暴露数据。通过审查之前研究中材料安全数据表 (MSDS) 的遗漏情况，定义了未公开的四种主要化学物质类别（不完整披露；具有非特定身份的化学品；未说明成分的相对数量；和商业秘密成分）。在三个地点的 957 种不同化学品中，有相当数量的化学品（20%）具有一系列未公开信息，其中大多数化学品（39%）具有非特定身份。大多数未公开信息是在市售的汽车机油中发现的，其次是清洁产品和机械维护产品，而不是对主要采矿过程至关重要的试剂。这三种类型的化学品都有商业秘密、非特定的化学身份和不完整的披露。当与 MSDS 遗漏的其他信息（如急性毒性终点 (LD50) 和/或急性水生毒性终点 (LC50) 以及成分的危险分类不足）结合使用时，这些类型的未公开信息会对全面了解危害造成阻碍。MSDS 中危害信息的传达因化学物质类型、制造商和管理 MSDS 的法规而异。未公开的信息会破坏职业健康保护，危及工业工人的安全，阻碍风险评估程序，并对未来健康造成不确定性。这取决于工业界对其员工的责任。随着越来越多的化学品的广泛使用，需要在披露要求、商业秘密规定和危险成分定义之间取得平衡，以满足市场需求，以及保护工人健康所需的信息。
