Chemicals as Regulatory Objects

This reflective article explores how different regulatory regimes concerned with the industrial use of chemicals conceptualize chemicals as regulatory objects in different ways. The U nited S tates T oxic S ubstances C ontrol A ct characterizes chemicals as risky objects, the E uropean U nion's REACH regime characterizes chemicals as market objects and the C alifornian G reen C hemistry I nitiative characterizes chemicals as scientific objects. The malleability of chemicals as regulatory objects has implications for debates about international chemicals regulation, including the need for a more nuanced debate and greater regulatory imagination.