Addressing Policy Barriers to Green Chemistry American Chemical Society Green Chemistry & Engineering June 24th, 2008 Michael P. Wilson, PhD, MPH Megan R. Schwarzman, MD, MPH UC Berkeley School of Public Health – Center for Occupational & Environmental Health 1

Implications of U.S. Chemicals Policy DATA GAP SAFETY GAP (Information) (Accountability) TECHNOLOGY GAP (Capacity)

Data Gap: Business and Consumer Choice Necessary Information: Current U.S. market: Function Price Performance Hazards

Data Gap: State Governments’ Ability to Prioritize Risks Necessary Information: Available Information: Identity Sales volume Uses Hazards 4

Implications of U.S. Chemicals Policy DATA GAP SAFETY GAP (Information) (Accountability) TECHNOLOGY GAP (Capacity)

Safety Gap: TSCA’s “Catch 22” Definitive evidence of cause-and-effect Balance of the evidence Reasonable grounds for concern Scientific suspicion of risk Standard of evidence required for regulation Degree of certainty possible based on information currently available to EPA

Implications of U.S. Chemicals Policy DATA GAP SAFETY GAP (Information) (Accountability) TECHNOLOGY GAP (Capacity)

Technology Gap: Intellectual and technical capacity to support green chemistry Chemistry education lacks Toxicology Exposure Principles of green chemistry Producers lack Metrics for continuous improvement Assistance with commercialization

Chemicals Policy Stakeholders Producers Business Green Chemists Local Governments Consumers Chemicals Policy Stakeholders Environmental Justice Environmental Groups Public Health Labor

Global Chemical Production Growing 3% per year Doubling every 25 years

European Union Affecting Global Change                       REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals Data generation and disclosure to government, public and through supply chains Management of chemicals of concern Global effects: applies equally to European and foreign producers and importers 11

REACH vs. TSCA Data disclosure for 30,000 chemicals Reversal of burden of proof: “no data, no market” Level playing field for new and existing chemicals Public access to information Two-way communication in supply chain Substances in products Authorization of substances of high concern

Policy Drivers of Green Chemistry EU: REACH State & Federal Legislation Biomonitoring Data Expanding Global Production Ecosystem Harm Policy Drivers of Green Chemistry Regrettable Substitutions Product Safety Product & Hazardous Waste Occupational Disease

Graphic arts courtesy of Chris Jordan -- chrisjordan.com Product Waste Graphic arts courtesy of Chris Jordan -- chrisjordan.com

Two million plastic bottles discarded every 5 seconds in the U.S.

Plastic Contamination: the Pacific Gyre 90% floating debris in oceans is plastic Plastic outweighs phytoplankton 6:1 Projected to grow 10-fold in 10 years Plastic found in 48-86% seabirds & marine mammals

426,000 cell phones retired each day in the U.S.

Global Transport of Hazards Transport of electronic waste to China Basel Action Network 23

Hazardous waste 61 of 85 of CA largest hazardous waste sites leaking into groundwater 94% pose “a major threat to human health or the environment.” US EPA estimates 600 new sites needed each month until 2033

Perception of Product Safety

Biomonitoring Studies Hundreds of synthetic chemicals in breast milk and umbilical cord blood Mercury Polyaromatic hydrocarbons Polybrominated dibenzodioxins Polybrominated dibenzofuranss Perfluorinated chemicals Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins Polychlorinated dibenzofurans Organochlorine pesticides Polybrominated diphenyl ethers Polychlorinated naphthalenes Polychlorinated biphenyls PBDE Levels in Breast Milk, Sweden The data from Sweden show a drastic increase in the quantity of PBDEs detected in women's breast milk prior to 1997, with concentrations doubling every five years between 1972 and 1997.21 Sweden's voluntary phaseout of PBDEs by companies and branches of the government began as early as 1990, and the Swedish government strongly encouraged the European Union to ban PBDEs outright.22 A striking response to Sweden's voluntary PBDE controls can be seen after 1997. Total PBDE levels in Swedish women's breast milk fell about 30 percent between 1997 and 2000, from a high of about 4 ng/g of milk fat, to 2.79 ng/g fat.23 Sweden is the only nation with a comprehensive breast milk monitoring program, so it has been difficult to track PBDE concentration trends elsewhere. However, in regions where bans and restrictions have not been established, available studies are showing that PBDE concentrations in breast milk have risen far past Sweden's 1997 peak of 4 ng/g milk fat. US levels higher than any other country. SF bay area levels 21x higher than Sweden’s 1997 peak Darnerud et al. 2002

Serial Phase-Outs & Substitutions 1970: Stoddard solvent Fire hazard 1978: CFCs Ozone depletion 1980: Methylene chloride Carcinogen 1985: 1,1,1-Trichloroethane Ozone depletion 1990: Perchloroethylene Dioxin emissions 2002: Hexane/acetone blends Neurotoxin Next: 1-Bromopropane Reproductive toxin

U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): An 82,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Green Chemistry Opportunity: Eliminating the Policy Barriers Policy objectives Close the data gap (Information) Close the safety gap (Accountability) Close the technology gap (Capacity) Policy strategies Demand side: increasing the competitive advantage of safer substances Supply side: building capacity to meet demand

The Power of Policy Per Capita Electricity Consumption, 1960-2007 Source: California Energy Commission, 2007

University of California, Berkeley Program in Green Chemistry & Chemicals Policy http://coeh.berkeley.edu/greenchemistry UC Berkeley School of Public Health Center for Occupational & Environmental Health 31