Health chemical industry, effects

Chemical industry Some are irritants Adverse health effects... 

Volatile hydrocarbons Motor vehicles Solvent processes Chemical industry Vegetation damage (especially unsaturated hydrocarbons) Some are irritants Adverse health effects... 

The new antimicrobial is an order of magnitude less toxic, several orders of magnitude less volatile, easier to handle, more compatible with other water treatment chemicals, more effective against biofilms, and it generates less than half the disinfection by-products compared to chlorine or other alternatives. One hundred fifty billion gallons of industrial water have by now been successfully treated globally. Use of this new antimicrobial has substantially reduced environmental and human health risks from industrial water treatment by replacing nearly thirty million pounds of chlorine. The new product is proven to comparatively perform better, more safely, and it is substantially easier to apply than chlorine. 

Developments to Date. It often has been stated that the basic policy objective of efforts to harmonize the U.S. and European laws is the achievement of consistent and effective protection of health and the environment. However, economic considerations — in particular, the avoidance (or minimization) of non-tariff trade barriers — constitute the principal force behind virtually all of these multilateral efforts. The trade in chemicals and chemical products constitutes a significant part of the overall trade between Western industrialized nations. Specifically, the U.S. enjoys a favorable balance in its chemicals trade, and this is particularly significant given the current recession. Thus, any unnecessary barriers to this trade may impose substantial burdens upon certain segments of the American chemical industry, and may constitute violations of the international General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 

Now, what can EPA or anyone else do about this elusive but real problem A start has already been made via a data quality workshop which was initiated by the CMA (Chemical Manufacturers Association) and co-sponsored by EPA, NBS (National Bureau of Standards) and NAS (National Academy of Sciences). This resulted in a group of about 40 experienced participants from government, industry and academia reviewing criteria for data quality in four areas of information relating to properties, health and environmental effects. From this beginning, we eventually hope to see the contents of data-bases or data files identified as to the level of reliability of extracted information. The user will then at least have the ability to judge the value of the information he received. 

E.H. Hurst s overview introduced several themes pursued by other chemical industry speakers. The Dow Chemical Company s E.H. Blair analyzed the problem of setting priorities for testing the 55,000 existing chemicals listed in the TSCA inventory for their effects on health and the environment. Resources for such testing are not unlimited. A systematic classification was made of these substances by production volume. The 9.5% of these substances which account for 99.9% of reported production were divided further into categories such as organic, inorganic, and polymeric. 

Ultimately, the goal of implementing the fourteen security features (and all other security provisions) is to create a significant improvement in the chemical industry on a national scale, by reducing vulnerabilities and therefore risks to public health from terrorist attacks and natural disasters. To create a sustainable effect, the chemical industrial sector as a whole must not only adopt and actively practice the features, but also incorporate the features into business as usual. ... 

But wait. Let s remember that chemicals have virtually transformed the modern world in extraordinarily beneficial ways. During the past 100 years the chemical industry has offered up, and we have eagerly consumed, thousands of highly useful materials and products. Among these products are many that have had profoundly beneficial effects on human health - antibiotics and other remarkable medicinal agents to prevent and cure diseases, pesticides to protect crops, preservatives to protect the food supply, plastics, fibers, metals and hundreds of other materials that have enhanced the safety and pleasures of modern... 

The OECD Database on Chemical Risk Assessment Models includes information on models (computerized or capable of being computerized) that are used by OECD Member governments and industry to predict health or environmental effects (e.g., QSARs), exposure potential, and possible risks. The methods described have not been evaluated or validated by OECD. 

EHC monographs examine the physical and chemical properties and analytical methods sources of environmental and industrial exposure and environmental transport kinetics and meta-bohsm including absorption, distribution, transformation, and elimination short- and long-term effects on animals, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity and finally, an evaluation of risks for human health and the effects on the environment. 

There are many areas of the chemical industry that must be controlled to avoid ill effects on health and the environment. Throughout this book we have tried to stress individual pollution-related problems. The details of these topics can be found in various chapters. A list of these subjects already discussed is given in Table 25.1. You may wish to review these topics at this time. 

Probably the law that has specifically affected the chemical industry the most is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Since it was signed on October 11, 1976 and became effective on January 1, 1977, it has caused many changes in the industry and will create further modifications in the years to come. The basic thrust of the law is threefold (1) to develop data on the effects of chemicals on our health and environment, (2) to grant authority to the EPA to regulate substances presenting an unreasonable risk, and (3) to assure that this authority is exercised so as not to impede technological innovation. 

Chemical industry voluntary test program for phthalate esters health effects studies. Environ. Health Perspect, 65, 329-336... 

The use of arsenic and its organic derivatives as herbicides, pesticides, and wood preservatives has been increasing steadily each year. Large quantities of arsenical compounds are manufactured by the chemical industry and eventually find their way into the environment (l ). About seventy percent of these chemicals are inorganic in form and the rest are organoarsenicals (2). Of the organoarsenicals, the most important species from the point of view of use and health effects are monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsenic acid (DMA), and p-aminophenylarsonic acid (p-APA). 

The Effects of Health and Environmental Regulation on Technological Change in the Chemical Industry Theory and Evidence... 

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