There are 84,000 chemicals in use in the U.S. today, and only 200 have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Jennifer Allen, associate professor and fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions.
There are 84,000 chemicals in use in the U.S. today, and only 200 have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Jennifer Allen, associate professor and fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions.
In her presentation, “Moving Toward Safer Chemicals: Oregon’s Opportunity for Leadership,” Allen identified the shortcomings of current policies regulating the use of these chemicals. She looked at how Oregon can be a forerunner in “Green Industry” that could benefit the economic wellbeing of the state while increasing this regulation.
Portland is known for its sustainable outlook, and Portland State has been a leader in green building, technology and education. The university’s Sustainable Solutions Seminar series this fall focuses on the “social, economic and environmental” solutions to sustainability problems.
Allen’s lecture focused on possible solutions to the toxic chemical dilemma in Oregon. She said there is a data gap in the information on the chemicals being used, stored and shipped. Manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients in their products because it is considered “proprietary” information and is protected by law.
Other concerns are how chemicals interact with other chemicals and how they may bio-accumulate, thereby increasing concentration in an organism.
This leads to the “safety gap.” The burden of proof lies with the state’s many fragmented agencies to prove that a chemical is hazardous. This is in contrast to the European model, which puts the burden on the manufacturer to prove that its chemicals are not hazardous.
“So many of the issues we face now are complex, are cross-sector and can rarely be addressed by any one agency,” Allen said.
Finally there is the “technology gap,” which is where Oregon and the resident universities come in. Through ingenuity and an interdisciplinary education, Oregon can create, promote and instill the use of new green products to replace those that are hazardous, Allen said.
“We’re chasing what we don’t want, instead of creating what we do want,” she said.
Because chemicals on the market are increasing at a rate of 3 percent a year, trying to regulate each new chemical would be both impossible and ineffective. We would be chasing a never-ending slough of new products, while still having to prove that they are harmful to the environment or human health through lengthy bureaucratic measures.
Instead, Allen suggested a multifaceted approach. This would include increasing coordination and cooperation between fragmented state agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fostering partnerships in the public and private sector with shared goals and encouraging interdisciplinary education that changes the way we think.
“One of the richest opportunities for students is to find a business that is interested but lacks its own resources, to explore these opportunities and then think about the different programs that can inform a path forward,” Allen said. “Is it business and engineering and chemistry? Is it marketing? Is it someone from an HR perspective?”
In her recent paper on chemical policy, Allen argues that “labeling consumer products and engaging citizens in monitoring of chemicals uses and exposures will also help raise public awareness of these issues.”
Action is not limited to agencies and government policy. As we know in Portland, changing what we buy and use can have an impact as well, and one should not feel powerless to make small, individual changes.
This is a community of aware and active citizens and students. We already see the formal side of education blossoming into something that is better suited to make changes, Allen said.
The Solutions Seminar Series, put on by the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, is free, webcast live to students and is available on Portland State’s YouTube channel. There is also a class based around the series, offered to both undergraduate and graduate students.
One audience member described what she sees as a great strength of Portland: “The willingness of our critical mass of consumers and citizens to rally when progressive ideas and solutions are put out there, and especially to vote with our dollars when we see who and where to vote.”
For more information, visit pdx.edu/sustainability/solutions-seminars.
