Increasing concern over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment has sparked an interest in emerging chemicals more broadly. In the last decade, there has been an increased effort to develop and strengthen programs for prioritising environmental hazards and risks for chemicals. While important and useful, such efforts mostly rely on comparing chemical properties with paradigms generated from previous environmental issues. Given the complexity of chemicals currently being developed and introduced to market, we should assume that at some point major challenges to our existing paradigms will eventuate. Key to addressing these challenges is our ability for early identification of ‘blind spots’ not covered by our existing paradigms. We suggest that while various relevant evaluation programs are in place and have been proposed, encouraging those processes to look beyond existing hazard paradigms and look for more subtle environmental signals will improve the ability to respond proactively when harm is still limited.
In this presentation we examine approaches from different jurisdictions, internationally and in Australia, that aim to provide early warning systems. However, such programs are few, and several challenges remain for us to look holistically for early signals of major new chemical impacts. To address these challenges, we adopt a system thinking lens to help us look for ‘blind spots’ and develop early warning systems. We propose a framework to combine risk assessment processes with chemicals life cycle assessment and social responsibility. Specifically, we consider approaches and data from different sciences such as concepts to identify chemical issues, data analysis methods, environmental monitoring for contaminants, toxicology and ecotoxicology, and biodiversity and ecological assessments. Awareness and integration of these different approaches in a complex chemical world is a starting point for addressing challenges to identify ‘blind spots’ which are not covered in our existing paradigms.