Background
Integration of occupational safety and health (OSH) with
sustainability and green chemistry practices is essential
to the effective realization of all of these endeavors. Sustainability
has a plurality of definitions [1]. In the ecological
area “sustainability” calls for policies and
strategies that meet societies’ present needs without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs [2]. Green chemistry is a suite of 12 enabling
principles intended to lead to chemical products
and processes that are more efficient, use less toxic materials,
and produce less waste in the environment
(Figure 1) [3]. If green chemistry is applied and workers
are not considered, there is the likelihood that workers
could be harmed and the full investment in green
chemistry will not be realized. There is increasing scientific
understanding of the human and environmental
health consequences of chemicals and the energy demands
associated with chemical processing. National
and international regulatory policies are inefficient in
keeping up with the myriad of chemicals used in commerce
today [4,5]. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) uses the US Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) to monitor approximately 80,000 chemicals.
In the European Union, the 2006 regulation on the
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction
of Chemicals (REACH) requires manufacturers to provide
detailed information on compounds that are
manufactured, marketed, or imported [6]. Workers have
always been affected by chemical exposures. The history
of occupational safety and health has been punctuated
by research investigating the impact of chemical exposures
on workers and by regulatory efforts for chemicals
risk management. As society moves forward to balance economic necessity and industrial efficiency with potential
environmental consequences, the implication for
worker safety and health needs to be considered. Considering
OSH when exploring green chemistry options
will reduce the likelihood of unwarranted consequences
for workers and the need to revise approaches to sustainability.
The case can be made that existing corporate
occupational safety and health risk management programs
should now be extended to include the principles
of green chemistry.