An Appeal for Global Collaboration in Chemical Management
Jen Lynch and Tamar Schlekat, SETAC
Chemicals are vital to modern society, but their use is not without risks to the environment and human health. Given the current challenges, such as innovation outpacing regulation, and inadequate resources to address the breadth of chemicals and chemical mixtures in the environment, a group of scientists and policy-makers attempted to prioritize the myriad issues related to the broad challenge of chemical management. Green et al recently published the list of priority topics for chemical management in Environmental Toxiciology and Chemistry.
The multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary group, mostly from industrialized nations, used a research approach called a “DELPHI-style horizon scan,” an iterative process designed to facilitate communication around complex issues. As the authors explain it, “Horizon scanning encourages a consideration of a wide variety of issues that can sit outside the immediate focus of a policy area, the future relevance and impact of which may not be immediately apparent from within that policy area, but which can bring significant disruption or unintended impacts if not considered in the context of a longer-term view of future changes.”
The 25 participants in the horizon scan were encouraged to lean across their professional and social networks to identify the most pressing issues (trends, threats, opportunities) related to chemical management, with an aim to use these outputs to shape policy and strategy around the globe. Following a three-stage process, wherein participants contributed issues and scored the submitted issues, the group was able to hone the shortlist to 15 and organize them in three classes: 1) new perspective on historic issues, 2) relatively new issues, 3) emerging approaches that can be used to meet these challenges.
Issues that were identified as threats to the environment included the deleterious impacts of the textile and fast fashion industry; PFAS, which have become ubiquitous in our environment; and the proliferation of tire particles in our waterways, among others. Issues that are threats were stressed as a clarion call to adopt a more proactive approach to environmental management – systematically applying research to inform decision making to create resilient legislation and to facilitate remedial action more expediently. On the other hand, the authors highlighted several issues that, as they are developed, promise to provide approaches to manage those challenges. Those included the weight-of-evidence decision-making approach, smarter technologies and materials, and artificial intelligence. The group also underscored that while understanding the toxicity of the hundreds of thousands of chemicals on the market presents a significant and costly challenge, growing utilization of computational methods can provide answers in an efficient and economical fashion.
The group pointed out in several sections of the paper that issues need to be considered holistically as changes in one industry, technology or use can impact another issue, and solutions for one issue may adversely impact another. For example, the paper noted that while “greener vehicles provide opportunities to contribute to climate mitigation, the current focus on electric vehicles without redesigning models of mobility (e.g., better public transportation and reduced vehicle travels) raises other concerns,” such as demand for raw materials mining, which has its own environmental and social impacts, and heavier electric vehicles can contribute to the tire-wear particles problem. In another example, the authors pointed out that while using “green” bio-based chemicals seems like a better alternative than fossil fuels, the implications on land use and biodiversity have yet to be studied and fully understood. In almost every instance, the authors were able to highlight assumptions where chemical alternates are thought to be biodegradable or recyclable, that they will not bioaccumulate nor persist in the environment, and so forth, but there are still many research gaps that need to be addressed to confirm these assumptions.
The authors encouraged collaboration across disciplines on chemical management and maximizing synergies between various environmental strategies and global policies. They warned that siloed decision-making to mitigate one threat can lead to unanticipated and unnecessary trade-offs but that multidisciplinary work could mean that changes in one industry, use or material can positively advance goals across numerous priority areas. The authors, who advocate for using systems thinking, the Safe and Sustainable by Design concepts and life cycle impact assessment, note that these holistic approaches can reduce the potential for unexpected environmental and human health impacts.
In closing, the scientists provided several approaches and ideas that could be developed to address chemical management and even went as far as to advocate for the precautionary principle. Readers of this article are most likely involved in one or more of the developments in chemical strategy, management, regulation or policy. This paper outlines intersectional issues and potential solutions, and the authors are keen to see more systematic coordination.
Authors’ contact information: [email protected]
