Chemicals, while bringing benefits
to society, may be released
during their lifecycles and possibly cause harm to humans and ecosystems.
Chemical pollution has been mentioned as one of the planetary boundaries
within which humanity can safely operate, but is not comprehensively
understood. Here, 22 chemical inventories from 19 countries and regions
are analyzed to achieve a first comprehensive overview of chemicals
on the market as an essential first step toward a global understanding
of chemical pollution. Over 350 000 chemicals and mixtures
of chemicals have been registered for production and use, up to three
times as many as previously estimated and with substantial differences
across countries/regions. A noteworthy finding is that the identities
of many chemicals remain publicly unknown because they are claimed
as confidential (over 50 000) or ambiguously described (up
to 70 000). Coordinated efforts by all stakeholders including
scientists from different disciplines are urgently needed, with (new)
areas of interest and opportunities highlighted here.
Plant protection products containing
nanomaterials that alter the
functionality or risk profile of active ingredients (nano-enabled
pesticides) promise many benefits over conventional pesticide products.
These benefits may include improved formulation characteristics, easier
application, better targeting of pest species, increased efficacy,
lower application rates, and enhanced environmental safety. After
many years of research and development, nano-enabled pesticides are
starting to make their way into the market. The introduction of this
technology raises a number of issues for regulators, including how
does the ecological risk assessment of nano-enabled pesticide products
differ from that of conventional plant protection products? In this
paper, a group drawn from regulatory agencies, academia, research,
and the agrochemicals industry offers a perspective on relevant considerations
pertaining to the problem formulation phase of the ecological risk
assessment of nano-enabled pesticides.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.