ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development Agenda 21 recommendations for the management of toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. Risks associated with the handling and use of chemicals require assessment and regulation “to ensure the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals”. Only about 100 000 commercial chemical substances are yet assessed for their risks to human health and the environment, and much effort on international risk assessment of chemicals is still to be undertaken. Risk reduction programmes aim to eliminate unacceptable risks and to substitute toxic chemicals by less harmful substances. The most environmentally sound way to deal with hazardous wastes is to prevent or at least to minimize its generation. National strategies should aim to stabilize the generation of hazardous wastes and to reduce its hazardous characteristics as an intermediate stage and to reduce the amount in a long-term programme.
