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REGULATIONS

Increasing regulation across Europe and North America means that chemical users and manufacturers have and will come under increasing pressure to use and produce safer chemicals. Regulations where green chemistry is likely to play an important role include:

REACH - The recent European REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) legislation aims to ensure that the manufacture and use of all chemicals made and used in Europe are safe for human health and the environment. There is a process of hazard assessment and prioritised risk assessment. This has implications. Even when hazards are not severe, if exposure is high enough then unacceptable risks can be predicted using standard models. The costs of performing the assessments and obtaining new information to refine or control can be very high, and are sometimes prohibitive.

IPPC - Certain industrial processes which have the greatest potential to impact the environment are controlled through Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC). Under IPPC, process operators must demonstrate that their activities use the best available techniques to minimise impacts. IPPC builds upon earlier pollution control approaches in that emissions to air, land and water are considered together, as well as waste reduction, energy efficiency and accident avoidance.

Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment - From 1 July 2006 new electrical and electronic equipment must not contain various specific hazardous chemicals. These must be replaced by other chemicals.

Pesticides and veterinary medicines undergo environmental risk assessment and these stages can place severe limitations on the marketability of a new substance. In response, in the agrochemical industry, early assessment of acceptability has been commonplace, so as to minimise unnecessary costs.

Photography courtesy of Emanuel Lobeck, Kenn Kiser, Crissie Hardy