OSPAR ratified the Harmonised Chemical Management Scheme (HMCS) at the Commission meeting in Copenhagen in June 2000. HMCS has been incorporated into the National Regulations of Contracting Parties to OSPAR. HMCS requires the use of CHARM to calculate the Predicted Environmental Concentration : Predicted No Effect Concentration (PEC : PNEC ratio) or Hazard Quotient (HQ) for a "Standard Platform". The HQ is to be used as a tool in the decision process for assessing chemicals with a view to issuing permits for their use on a continuing or temporary basis within the OSPAR region.

The CHARM model was developed in close co-operation between the Exploration and Production (E & P) industry, chemical suppliers and Authorities of some countries party to the Oslo and Paris conventions (OSPAR) which constitute the CHARM Implementation Network, CIN. CIN have monitored the use of CHARM and have updated various algorithms and added others as felt necessary

EOSCA has actively supported the CHARM project and sponsored the development of Excel 97 based software to calculate the PEC : PNEC ratio from persistence, toxicity and bioaccummulation data together with usage dose rates for chemicals. The CHARM Calculator Software was updated initially but changes to the algorithms could not be incorporated into the Excel product. This and the desire to add new features prompted EOSCA to commission the development of NeCCS. Both the CHARM Calculator Software and NeCCS also calculate the Risk Quotient (RQ) which is the PEC : PNEC ratio for non standard installations.

The current version of CHARM is 1.4 and is downloadable from the EOSCA website. It is also available from the OGP website.