Life cycle risk assessment and management of industrial chemicals: synergizing material metabolism and risk flow by 'emiss-ome'

Industrial chemicals are released throughout their life cycle (from upstream production to downstream emission), causing pervasive pollution of new contaminants and posing substantial risks to ecosystems and human health. The complex transfer and transformation of these chemicals during industrial and environmental processes necessitate dynamic risk assessment approaches. However, current methodologies remain predominantly static and endpoint-oriented, emphasizing instantaneous risks after emission while overlooking pollutant formation dynamics across the chemical life cycle, particularly for chemicals with transformation potentials. This disconnection impedes effective contaminant source tracing, identification of high-risk mixture components, and evaluation of cumulative life cycle risks. Based on the concept of emiss-ome, we attempt to establish mechanistic linkages between industrial chemicals, and end-of-life pollutants. We demonstrate how industrial metabolism analysis, coupled with environmental fate and transport models, elucidates material flows across the chemical life cycle, establishing quantitative source-pollutant relationships. To identify key contaminants and address mixture toxicity, the application of adverse outcome pathway frameworks are examined to reveal dominant toxicity pathways, enabling identification of key toxicants, and risk evaluation of chemical mixtures. Ultimately, the integration of chemical metabolism and risk flow is expected to establish a novel framework to trace key toxicants back to their source chemicals and assess cumulative life cycle risks, facilitating a paradigm shift from terminal risk identification toward proactive life cycle risk assessment and management.