Klaus Günter Steinhäuser

Principles and perspectives

Background, Aim and ScopeWith respect to the enormous increase of chemical production in the last decades and the tens of thousands of individual chemicals on the market, the permanent improvement of chemical management is a permanent target to achieve the goals of sustainable consumption and production set by the WSSD in Johannesburg 2002.Main FeaturesSeveral approaches exist to describe sustainability of chemistry. However, commonly agreed criteria are still missing. There is no doubt that products of modern chemistry help to achieve important goals of sustainability and that significant improvements have occurred regarding direct releases from production sites, but several facts demonstrate that chemistry is far from being sustainable. Still too many chemicals exhibit hazardous characteristics and pose a risk to health and environment. Too many resources are needed to produce chemicals and finished products.Results and ConclusionTherefore, a strategy for sustainability of chemistry should be developed which comprises the following main elements:1.Sustainable chemicals: sustainable chemical management includes a regulatory framework which makes no difference between new and existing chemicals, contains efficient information flow through the supply chain which allows users to handle chemicals safely and offers an authorisation procedure and/or an efficient restriction procedure for substances of high concern. This regulatory scheme should promote the development of inherently safe chemicals.2.Sustainable chemical production: Sustainable chemical production needs the development and implementation of emerging alternative techniques like selective catalysis, biotechnology in order to release less CO, and less toxic by-products, to save energy and to achieve higher yields. Information exchange on best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) may help to promote changes towards more sustainability.3.Sustainable products: An integrated product policy which provides a framework for sustainable products promotes the development of products with a long-term use phase, low resource demand in production and use, low emission of hazardous substances and properties suitable for reuse and recycling. This may be promoted by eco-labelling, chemical leasing concepts and extended information measures to enhance the demand of consumers and various actors in the supply chain for sustainable products.Recommendation and PerspectiveImportant tools for the promotion of sustainable chemistry are the abolition of barriers for innovation in legislation and within the chemical industry, more transparency for all users of chemical products, a new focus on sustainability in education and research, and a new way of thinking in terms of sustainability.

Environmental risks of chemicals and genetically modified organisms: A comparison

The principles of precaution and sustainability require more consideration in the assessment of environmental risks posed by chemicals and genetically modified organisms. Instead of applying risk reduction measures when there are serious indications for damage, full scientific certainty is often waited for before taking action. The precautionary principle particularly should be applied in those cases in which the extent and probability of damage are uncertain, e.g. in the case of persistent chemicals which are additionally bioaccumulative or highly mobile. Based on these principles, environmental action targets for risks associated with GMOs and chemicals can be developed. Risk management not only includes statutory measures but also instruments designed to influence behaviour indirectly are important to achieve the goals. Particularly for risks of GMOs which provoke fear, risk communication is important. Some rules to which attention should be paid in communication with the public are presented.

Environmental risks of chemicals and genetically modified organisms: a comparison. Part I: Classification and characterisation of risks posed by chemicals and GMOs.

Risks can be characterised by several parameters. A risk is commonly defined to be the product of the extent of damage and the probability of its occurrence. But there are several other characteristics to be taken into account: degree of certainty in determining extent and probability, persistency, ubiquity, irreversibility, delay effect and mobilisation potential. As potential risks of genetically modified plants (GMPs), resistance to antibiotics, impact on non-target organisms, spread of genes and GMOs, and secondary consequences, e.g. on cultivation practice, are discussed in detail. Risks of GMPs are, in general, characterised by high uncertainly of the magnitude and probability of damage, a high mobilisation potential and a delay effect.

Sustainable Chemistry in Dessau – a workshop report

How can 150 experts from 14 countries be tempted into the small town of Dessau? The Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), in cooperation with the OECD, the Federal Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (BAuA) and the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), invited delegates to Saxony-Anhalt to discuss an unwieldy but nevertheless widely discussed issue – Sustainable Chemistry. Under the title “Sustainable Chemistry – Integrated Management of Chemicals, Products and Processes”, a workshop was held from 27–29th January 2004, which provided scientists and experts from university, industry, environmental NGOs and authorities with a forum to discuss and reflect steps to put sustainable chemistry in more concrete terms. As part of the global programme of the OECD on sustainable chemistry, this workshop should focus on specific elements of sustainable chemistry, criteria and indicators, methods for evaluation and instruments for implementation. The workshop was not held in Dessau by accident. Andreas Troge, President of the UBA, said “The workshop will make a contribution to an economy that is competitive, dynamic, and based on knowledge. It is important to sustain the efficiency of chemical production as well as to safeguard the natural means of livelihood for future generations. Dessau is not only the future location of the UBA, it is also situated near a region which is a symbol for the transformation from a dirty to a resource-saving chemical production”. Ulrich Schlottmann from the hosting Ministry (BMU) brought the title of the workshop into an international context. He recalled the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, aimed at minimization of significant negative impacts of chemicals on human health and environment by 2020. Laurence Musset from the OECD Environment Directorate stated, “Sustainable chemistry will raise the overall level of environmental protection and job and consumer safety” and highlighted the role of OECD as an engine for international chemical safety.