Chemical Pollution Business and Manufacturing
Chemical Sector SDG Roadmap
• Policy Briefs
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.
“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
Chemical Pollution Health and Care Systems
Global perspectives on residual antibiotics: Environmental challenges and trends. Discover Sustainability.
Extensive use of different classes of antibiotics in hospitals, animal husbandry, veterinary, and aquaculture practices release substantial amounts of residual antibiotics into the environment, posing a potential hazard to the public and environmental health.
• Research & Reports
Chemical Pollution Land Use and Land Cover Change
Watersheds and Health
Curated collection by PLOS Earth & Environment.
• Tools
Chemical Pollution Food Systems
Microplastics in our diet: A growing concern for human health. Science of the Total Environment.
• Research & Reports
Life Stage and Reproductive Health Chemical Pollution
Protecting Children’s Health from Toxic Hazards and Environmental Exposures. People Behind the Science Podcast.
This episode of the People Behind the Science podcast features Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a pediatrician and public health expert at Boston College, discussing the impact of environmental toxins on children’s health and key strategies for protecting them.
• Podcasts
News Related to Chemical Pollution
Youth Reimagining a World Without Single-Use Plastics
