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ICF has supported hundreds of clients across the globe in nearly every major industry, including energy, transportation, manufacturing, high technology, hospitality, Internet and media, financial services, and life sciences. A few of our clients’ successes in the chemical arena are outlined below.
Lower Olefins and Aromatics REACH Consortium
Some of the largest chemical companies who manufacture and/or import lower olefins and aromatics formed a consortium in 2008 to help leverage technical, regulatory, and financial resources. The consortium’s objective is to assist its members in meeting the REACH requirements. ICF is a member of the support team providing management and technical assistance for registration of the dozens of substances covered by the consortium. ICF staff based in Europe assist with day-to-day consortium operations and overall communications between consortium members, the technical support team, and the public. Communication is an essential component of REACH, with key tools being the consortium’s public and internal Web sites and the REACHsuite management tool, which stores information on the process and completion of each REACH data requirement and tracks progress on all technical tasks. For the technical components, ICF has been responsible for organizing and disseminating information and helping to resolve challenges—from developing the list of substances to be registered under REACH to compiling relevant compositional information and physiochemical data for the substances and streams.
Higher Olefins and Poly Alpha Olefins REACH Consortium
ICF is providing program management and technical services to support five large chemical companies who manufacture and/or import higher olefins and poly alpha olefins. These companies formed a consortium in 2008 and are in the process of registering 79 different substances. ICF staff located in Brussels provide management, administrative, database, scheduling, communications, and technical assistance to facilitate the registration process.
European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) Targeted Risk Assessment Model
ECETOC previously developed a software tool to model exposure risk of chemical substances. With the REACH regulation, ECETOC is revising the model and ICF technical resources are developing the revised risk assessment model for both worker and consumer exposure. In partnership with Penman Consulting, ICF is providing information technology, project management, and risk assessment expertise.
Analysis of Draft REACH Regulations
For a major trade association, ICF prepared a detailed review and analysis of the REACH regulations proposed in May 2003. There were three main areas of investigation in the project:
1. Review of proposed REACH protocols for ecological toxicity, environmental fate, and human health effects testing of chemicals and comparison to internationally accepted Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) test guidelines. ICF scientists compared the proposed REACH test protocols to corresponding OECD methods and made professional judgments about whether any differences were significant.
2. Estimation of the costs for a company to comply with the proposed risk assessment requirements of REACH (i.e., develop the Chemical Safety Report).
3. Estimation of the costs for a company to comply with the proposed socioeconomic analysis provisions of REACH.
Literature Search and Database Development for High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals
ICF performed a literature search and review for 16 categories of toxicity and environmental fate testing data on 2,700 HPV chemicals and then compiled the information into an Access database for a major chemical industry trade association. ICF scientists researched and compiled information on the domestic manufacturers of the same list of chemicals. ICF developed, in support of the voluntary HPV Challenge chemical testing program, a Web site to publicly document and track the chemical industry’s progress in conducting additional testing on these same chemicals.
Program Management for Environmental Research Program
For ten years, ICF has provided technical workgroup and program implementation support to a multimillion dollar environmental health research program for a major chemical industry trade association. ICF prepares materials for and facilitates workgroup meetings, drafts minutes and action items, coordinates member scientist reviews of research proposals and reports, and developed and manages a database that tracks progress, budget, and other information for more than 100 toxicology, exposure analysis, and risk assessment-related research projects.
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