The chemicals available on the world's markets are of enormous diversity. Their total number is estimated to be approximately 350,000; this high number is a huge challenge for the systems of chemicals regulation and management worldwide. A main differentiation is between chemicals designed to have biological activity (pesticides and pharmaceuticals, termed intentionally potent, of which there are up to 10,000) and chemicals designed for other purposes (industrial chemicals, termed not intentionally potent, of which there are more than 300,000). Because of the complexity and number of chemicals to assess and the enormous variability of their uses, the regulatory system is overwhelmed and not sufficiently protective. Many industrial chemicals have not been sufficiently tested for hazardous properties, and even for pesticides, the testing is not sufficiently comprehensive. Moreover, because every chemical is considered as a new case to be investigated in detail, the regulatory system cannot avoid regrettable substitution (replacement of hazardous substances with similarly hazardous substances). Because of insufficient assessment and management, chemical pollution has become a serious global issue. Suggestions for regulatory reform and a chemicals transition toward higher chemicals efficiency of modern societies are presented.
Scheringer et al. (Thu,) studied this question.