Green Chemistry

Green chemistry presents an attractive alternative to traditional industrial and manufacturing practices because of traditional methods’ far-reaching effects on the environment and on human health. Industry's use of chemistry in manufacturing creates hazardous by-products as a result of the production process as well as products that, after use, may also be harmful. Because of industry's mass production, the hazardous results created in common industrial processes have attracted the attention of concerned individuals and groups calling for a rethinking of the chemistry involved in such production.

Green chemistry seeks to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in the production, use, and disposal of goods with the goal of minimizing, or at least reducing, negative environmental and human impact. Green chemistry advocates go about achieving these ends [Page 186]through the reduction of produced waste in chemical reactions, the use of energy-efficient production, and the use and production of chemicals that degrade into substances that are not environmentally harmful. Green chemistry aims at finding solutions that eliminate the problem of chemical waste rather than simply keeping toxicity of chemicals within an acceptable range. The reduction of waste is superior to the reuse, treatment, or disposal of chemical wastes.

Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner released a widely cited set of main principles that guide green chemistry efforts to achieve the ends of reduction or elimination of hazardous chemicals. The principles ask users of chemicals to do the following:

• Prevent waste rather than clean it up after it is formed
• Incorporate as many materials used in the process as possible into the final product
• Use synthetic substances that present minimal hazard to humans and the environment whenever practicable
• Design chemicals to reduce toxicity and maximize efficacy
• Use auxiliary substances such as solvents or separation agents as sparingly as possible
• Consider energy requirements with regard to environmental and economic impacts and minimize them when possible
• Renew raw materials or feedstock whenever practicable
• Avoid derivatives
• Consider catalytic reagents superior to stoichiometric reagents
• Design chemical products so as not to persist in the environment at the end of their function
• Further develop analytical methodologies
• Choose substances used in chemical processes to minimize chemical accidents

These principles lay a foundation for the implementation of practices that work toward the aims of green chemistry. Various advances have been made that incorporate these principles into practice, including the creation of new methods for chemical production that avoid the use of hazardous chemicals, new energy-efficient ways to produce chemicals, and advances in the pharmaceutical industry's creation of medicines, such as ibuprofen, that reduce the amount of waste created.

Green chemistry has grown into an international concern in which actions are being taken to promote and assist in the attainment of the aims of green chemistry. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promotes green chemistry through its Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program, which provides awards to individuals or groups who have made significant progress in some aspect of green chemistry. In Europe, the European Union (EU) has promulgated legislation that concerns itself with the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restrictions of chemicals (REACH). The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) manages the chemical information REACH is concerned with, coordinating the relations between industry and this information.

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