The Green Chemistry Revolution: A New Paradigm for Reducing and Managing Hazardous Wastes - 2008
An hour long panel discussion about the manufacture of goods and affect chemical waste. The linkages of product design, production, distribution and use around the world.
California's green chemistry initiative grew out of a legislative mandate based on a worker poisoning problem in 1977-78.
Problems that lead to clarification of the chemical issues facing us:
- Chemical regulatory policies and controls
- Safety problems for workers
- European Union has directives (hazardous substances, cosmetics, REACH initiative) for chemical policies that have brought economic ties and impact to the US
- Total daily California sales of chemicals
- Total tanker trucks rolling through the state
- Product waste is a huge problem
- Global transport of hazards
- Hazardous waste sites leaking into groundwater
- 600 new waste sites will be needed every month until 2033
- 94% of hazardous waste sites pose health hazards
- Chemicals are found in breast milk
- Global chemical production is doubling very 25 years
- Accountability gaps
- Difficulty to find what's in chemicals
- Very little incentive for investment in green chemical alternatives
- Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 has some data gaps and regulatory gaps.
2 million plastic bottles are discarded every 5 seconds
60,000 plastic bags discarded every 5 seconds
90% of the floating debris in the oceans is plastic...and outweighs plankton.
60,000 plastic bags discarded every 5 seconds
90% of the floating debris in the oceans is plastic...and outweighs plankton.
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