Increasing international assessment of chemical risks

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends expanding and accelerating international assessment of chemical risks. It recommends reviewing strategies for exposure assessment and environmental monitoring to allow for the best use of available resources, to ensure compatibility of data and to encourage coherent national and international strategies for that assessment. In particular it recommends promoting mechanisms to increase collaboration among governments, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organizations involved in the various aspects of risk assessment of chemicals and related processes, in particular promoting and coordinating research activities to improve understanding of the mechanisms by which toxic chemicals act.