Pharos Collaborative Projects
Pharos provides a collaborative space for identifying substances, associating hazards, managing, comparing and assessing lists of chemicals of concern, undertaking alternatives assessments and discussing strategies for advancing safer chemistries.
Compound Group Population Project
A project to systematically identify the individual members of chemical groups identified with specific health hazards by scientific bodies (such as lead compounds or organic mercury compounds) in order to improve list based chemical hazard screening and avoid regrettable substitutions.
Plastic Packaging Chemicals Project
A research project to compile lists of chemicals used in plastic packaging, and associated uses and human and environmental health hazards and to analyze substitution options for the most hazardous chemicals.
Form-Specific Hazards (dust, fume, etc)
Substances can be significantly more hazardous as dusts than as a solid mass, but hazard lists use the same CASRN for both forms. This means that when a list assigns a hazard to a substance, it’s often unclear if there are multiple forms, and which form the hazard is relevant to. It's important to identify these form-specific hazards so they can be flagged differently from standard hazards.
We're reviewing chemicals to determine which have form-specific hazards and have begun to compile a list, which includes commonly used substances such as silica, carbon black and titanium dioxide. Due to the number of chemicals to review, we're inviting you to send suggestions for additional chemical-hazard associations that are only relevant for certain physical forms, such as dust, fiber, or fume.
Our goal is to distinguish these hazards from those of the bulk material while maintaining their visibility, since there is often the potential for the bulk form to be transformed into a more hazardous form.
New projects
If you would like to use Pharos to host a new project or would like more information about the process, contact us at support@pharosproject.net.