Search

AbstractThe world faces an increasing need to phase out harmful chemicals and design sustainable alternatives across various consumer products and industrial applications. Alternatives assessment is an emerging field focusing on identifying viable solutions to substitute harmful chemicals. However, current methods fail to consider trade-offs from human and ecosystem exposures, and from impacts associated with chemical supply chains and product life cycles. To close this gap, we propose a life cycle based alternatives assessment (LCAA) framework for consistently integrating quantitative exposure

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) substantially cost society as a result of increases in disease and disability but—unlike other toxicant classes such as carcinogens—have yet to be codified into regulations as a hazard category.This Series paper examines economic, regulatory, and policy approaches to limit human EDC exposures and describes potential improvements. In the EU, general principles for EDCs call for minimisation of human exposure, identification as substances of very high concern, and ban on use in pesticides. In the USA, screening and

It's time to regulate Highly Hazardous Pesticides!It won’t compromise agriculture, but it will save lives.This document was prepared by WHO under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) full sized project 9771: Global best practices on emerging chemical policy issues of concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP and executed by the SAICM Secretariat. WHO acknowledges the financial contribution of the Global Environment Facility for the development, editing and

The Special Programme has successfully processed three rounds of applications since its inception in 2015. The Programme is currently funding projects from 42 countries. You can explore the projects through our Projects Database.Use the tool below to discover more about projects that have been funded by the Special Programme. It provides an overview of the activities each project has been undertaking to implement the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the Minamata Convention and SAICM. It also categorizes the objectives of

Chemical Entities of Biological Interest, also known as ChEBI is a chemical database and ontology of molecular entities focused on 'small' chemical compounds, that is part of the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) effort at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI).The term "molecular entity" refers to any "constitutionally or isotopically distinct atom, molecule, ion, ion pair, radical, radical ion, complex, conformer, etc., identifiable as a separately distinguishable entity". The molecular entities in question are either products of nature or synthetic products which

The database of IOMC activities in countries provides an overview of where individual IOMC organizations are working on chemicals issues in countries.The entries relate to country-specific activities and not normative or general activities applicable to many countries, such as the development of guidelines. Information from the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions is included as the Secretariat is an observer to the IOMC.

This paper examines one specific theme of the democracy-environment interface of environmental governance: the participation of stakeholders in environmental policy formulation and implementation.After a short discussion of environmental governance, its main functions and challenges, the paper addresses the issue of stakeholder participation and the claim of a “democratic deficit” in international environmental governance. It stresses that while stakeholder involvement does not increase the democratic legitimacy, it may nevertheless increase the quality and through this the legitimacy of environmental policy processes

ContextTo address the recognized deficiencies mentioned above, it’s essential to have a ‘chemicals ecosystem (SAICM ecosystem)’ in which relevant information can be shared transparently and easy to obtain. In this ‘chemicals ecosystem’, a holistic chemicals-information-sharing hub, serving as ‘database’ and ‘scanner’ on chemicals management, should be developed to provide connection on knowledge and information from a wide variety of sources and allow stakeholders to identify their gaps on the way towards the sound management of chemicals and waste. Last but

Earth is running out of resources needed for manufacturing materials such as chemicals, minerals, and petroleum. Thus, these components are available only at increasing economic and environmental costs. As an important contribution to a sustainable future, chemistry and its products must be adapted to a circular economy (CE)—a system aimed at eliminating waste, circulating and recycling products, and saving resources and the environment.Nearly 140,000 industrial chemicals are marketed worldwide, and new chemicals are becoming more complex (e.g., stereochemistry, functional groups)