Health, Safety & the Environment
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| Managing Chemicals |
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The European chemical industry aims to market only those products that can be manufactured, used and disposed of safely. If we failed to do so, we would undermine the benefits we offer to society and jeopardise our long-term economic success. |
We seek to manage our products through their entire lifespan from design to eventual disposal in a way that strikes the best possible balance between acceptable (and controlled) risk and maximum benefit for society in the short, medium and long-term.
To ensure proper safety, we need to assess a range of factors including the way a chemical is used, the degree to which users and others are exposed to it, its intrinsic hazards, the way it behaves in the environment (whether it degrades or is absorbed, for example) and its possible effects on human health and the environment.
Good chemicals management - in other words, the safe use of chemicals - also depends on the clear communication of hazards and risks. Recognising its role in the process, the global chemical industry launched its HPV initiative in 1998. Under this initiative, the industry provides harmonised, internationally agreed data on the intrinsic hazards of approximately 1,000 HPV (High Production Volume) substances.
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