New report cites need for Green Chemistry

By Trevor Schubert

Published on April 03, 2006

The report titled "Green Chemistry in California" was commissioned by the state Legislature and paints a gloomy picture of the current state of chemical exposure and the potential hazards Californians face.

According to the report, the U.S. produces or imports 42 billion pounds of chemicals every day. To put this in perspective this could fill enough 8,000 gallon gasoline trucks to stretch from San Francisco to Washington and back. Over the next 25 years, the EPA foresees the need for 600 new hazardous waste sites per day.

The report also mentions what the authors perceived to be serious shortfalls in current federal regulations, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The intent of the report is not solely to shed light on the decrepit state of toxic regulation but also presents a vision of how California can become a leader in the search for "green chemistry innovation."

Green chemistry includes manufacturing and using chemicals that are less toxic, don't accumulate in the body, and are more easily broken down by the environment. It also includes changing how chemicals are produced.

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