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WHAT IS PLANETARY HEALTH?

Chemical Pollution

Human-generated chemical pollution threatens global health, ecosystem balance, and humanity’s long-term survival.

Chemically active materials are discharged into the environment in massive quantities each year, including the introduction of newly synthesized chemicals. Human exposure to chemicals increases with the growth of chemical-intensive industries, including construction, agriculture, electronics, cosmetics, mining, and textiles. We come in contact with chemicals through the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Industrial chemicals have been detected in populations of all ages across the globe and in plants and animals worldwide.   

The presence of hazardous chemicals and other pollutants (e.g., microplastics and pharmaceutical pollutants) impacts human health,  biodiversity, and ecological integrity. Chemical pollutants have been tied to a broad range of health concerns, including cancers and respiratory illnesses; and diseases of the cardiovascular, central nervous, and renal systems. Recent studies have also focused on the impacts of exposure over time to low levels of pollutants on human reproduction, cognitive health, and food security.  

Empty plastic carton sits on the sand next to a dirty ocean shore.

“We cannot live without chemicals. Nor can we live with the consequences of their bad management.” -Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UN Environment

Chemical Pollution Resources

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Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries monitors a world out of balance. Nature.
Values shown are for 2022. Social wedges (inner ring) show the status of humanity relative to minimum social standards and ecological wedges (outer ring) show Earth-system status relative to planetary boundaries.

Biodiversity Loss Chemical Pollution

Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries monitors a world out of balance. Nature.

Fanning and Raworth re-imagine the doughnut-shaped framework of social and planetary boundaries (the ‘Doughnut’) in this article. They assess progress towards the goal of meeting the needs of all people within the means of the living planet with a revised set of 35 indicators that monitor trends in social deprivation and ecological overshoot over the 2000–2022 period.

• Research & Reports

Fanning, A.L. and Raworth, K.

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