Uniform system for the evaluation of substances. I. Principles and structure.

In April 1994, the first version of the Uniform System for the Evaluation of Substances (USES 1.0) was launched to comply with an action point of the Netherlands National Environmental Policy Plan. USES is a tool for the rapid, quantitative assessment of the hazards and risks of chemical substances, including new substances, existing substances, agricultural pesticides and biocides. It was developed to be applied as a decision-support system by the central government, by industry and institutes in the private sector and by international fora. Since hazard and risk assessment must be transparent to all users and easy to perform, USES 1.0 is well documented and available as a computer program. An overview of this system will be presented including its objectives, the national and international framework, the general principles involved, as well as the structure and the content of the models used.