hide
Free keywords:
emissions; environmental exposure; environmental politics; environmental risks; precautionary politics; substance risks
Abstract:
With the aim of providing results for precautionary environmental
politics at an early point in time, a strategy is being sought to
optimize the identification of research objects in substance-related
environmental research. Both, proven as well as potential substance
risks are considered as such. This approach is meant to
support pro-active elements in environmental chemistry (as
opposited to re-active elements associated with environmental
damage).
In the atmosphere, substance risks are created by perturbations
of functions of the atmosphere and of other natural spheres, as
far as atmospheric functions are part of the cause-effect relationships.
A complete risk assessment includes exposure and
effects analyses, a prerequisite for the latter is the identification
of critical effect thresholds (in general: criticalities). However,
the state of knowledge in many cases does not allow for a quantitative
analysis of the cause-effect relationships. Exposure
analysis can be significant for the identification of relevant
research objects, because the quantification of the spatial and
temporal extent of the potential damage constitutes an important
risk category which can be addressed by exposure analysis.
Examples for priority issues of substance-related environmental
research are given based on combined exposure and effect
analyses, as well as on exposure analyses alone. References for
the knowledge production process in substance-related environmental
science are provided in the field of risk assessment
and using the syndrome concept.