Chemicals in our Lives - Safety and Sustainability

There are safety issues that are associated with the many industrial chemicals that exist. As well as safety, environmental impacts must be considered. A life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to assess the impact.

Health and the Environment

A large number of industrial chemicals exist and have a range of uses. These uses include consumer products. The safety of these chemicals must be checked to identify any risks they may pose to human health and the environment.

Some chemicals used in synthetic materials are harmful in large doses but not in the concentrations used in the products. Other synthetic materials are harmful even in these small amounts.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a class of chemicals that take a long time to break down and can harm people and wildlife. Because they take so long to break down they can be carried over large…