A Farewell to Harms: The Audacity to Design Safer Products

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nicholas Anastas, National Risk Management Research Laboratory; Gary Miller, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-02-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B - Oxford Open Option D
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: The authors
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfx288
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Toxicological Sciences
• ISSN: 1096-6080
• Volume: 161
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 211
• End Page: 213
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Toxicology
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Health Care Management; Health Sciences, Toxicology

Abstract

The unprecedented explosion of the manufacture and adoption of synthetic chemicals into commerce after World War II introduced a panoply of products and materials that improved the standard of living for many people and spawned a multitrillion dollar chemical industry. From plastics to pharmaceuticals, building materials to electronics and glues, many of these innovative products have made life easier to afford and enjoy. Computers are accessible to the general public, clothing options are mind-boggling, and our access to consumer goods produced from petroleum-based chemicals is essentially unlimited. But we need to stop and ask ourselves: Are there too many chemicals?