Why We Need Green Chemistry? and Why Promote Green Chemistry?

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Chemistry has improved our quality of life, and made thousands of products possible. Unfortunately, this achievement has come at a price: our collective human health and the global environment are threatened.

Our bodies are contaminated with a large number of synthetic industrial chemicals, many of which are known to be toxic and carcinogenic while others remain untested for their health effects. They come to us from unlabeled products, chemically contaminated food, air, water and dust while the developing fetus is exposed directly to chemicals in the womb. Many chemicals work their way up the food chain and circulate round the globe: pesticides used in the tropics are commonly found in the Arctic; flame retardants used in furniture and electronics are now commonly found in marine mammals.

Yet as cancer rates rise and evidence increases about the link between certain chemicals and birth defects and learning disabilities1 our regulatory system has been unable to make chemical producers provide full testing information or promote inherently safer chemicals. While some efforts are underway to overhaul chemicals policy, most notably by the recent passing of the European Union’s new chemicals policy, REACH, the focus must also be on overhauling the way chemicals are designed from the outset. This is what Green Chemistry sets out to do.

What is Green Chemistry?

Green chemistry is an approach to the design, manufacture and use of chemical products to intentionally reduce or eliminate chemical hazards. The goal of green chemistry is to create better, safer chemicals while choosing the safest, most efficient ways to synthesize them and to reduce wastes……

For more information, contact: Bev@CleanProduction.org.