Abstract
A wide variety of chemicals are used in the manufacture of components. Many of these chemicals are inherently hazardous and need to be managed in an effective manner to reduce costs, protect the environment, ensure health safety, enable compliance and sustain future manufacturing require-ments. Therefore, having a consistent approach to managing chemicals is necessary to enable effective, sustainable and the sound management of chemicals. This research focuses on downstream users of chemicals and proposes a framework for the sound management of chemicals. Amongst a wide range of global initiatives, the Strategic Approach to Interna-tional Chemicals Management (SAICM) provides a robust policy framework for achieving the sound management of chemicals. This research has cus-tomised the SAICM objectives of risk reduction, governance and knowledge management to meet the needs of downstream users of chemicals. In doing so, specific methodologies for assessing the quality of Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and conducting a downstream user chemical risk assessment were developed and embedded within a framework for achieving the sound man-agement of chemicals. The methodology for assessing the quality of SDS was tested on 200 SDS used in the aerospace industry and the results have been published in the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 2015. The methodology for conducting a downstream user chemical risk assessment was applied to a widely used metal working fluid. In comparison to existing chemical risk assessments, the proposed methodology delivered a robust and comprehensive risk review of environment, health and safety risks across the stages of receipt, storage, use and disposal of chemicals. The proposed framework is the first of its kind to address specific needs of downstream users of chemicals. It enables the sound management of chem-icals and sustainable development.