Toxic Substances

from regulation to "green chemistry"

In 2004 the conventions of Rotterdam and Stockholm came into force at an interval of three months. The first strengthens the safety of the international trade in certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The second aims to end the use of persistent organic polluted ants – POPs* – and prevent their distribution through disposal of existing stocks. In 2007, Europe adopted the REACH regulations, a system of registration evaluation and authorization of existing or new chemical substances produced, existing or new. In the United States, despite strong resistance from the industrial sector, the American Senate has drawn up a similar law which would make it the industries’ responsibility to prove that their products are harmless.

Furthermore, us part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), more than 100 health and environment ministers meeting in Dubai in 2006 approved u Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Its aim is to implement the commitments made in Johannesburg in 2002 so that, by 2020, chemicals are produced and used in such a wag as to minimize the harmful effects on the environment und human health. The idea of ”green chemistry” is also making headway in the narrowest meaning of the term, it involves a large network of researchers united around the Green Chemistry Institute and supported by the American EPA**; in a broader sense, it is being demonstrated by big manufacturers declaring their social responsibility.

The Responsible Care Program, an initiative set up in Canada in 1985, now includes trade bodies from 53 countries and focuses on improvements in terms of health safety und the environment.

* The initial list of 12 POPs, including PCBs and nine pesticides, has had five new substances added.
** Environmental Protection Agency