Chemical Pollution

Chemicals are everywhere. They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the products we use, and the soil we touch. Some chemicals are natural and harmless, or even beneficial, but others are synthetic and hazardous. They can cause serious and irreversible damage to our health and the environment.

How chemicals impact health

Exposure to chemical pollution is linked to a wide range of health impacts — some of which are serious and irreversible. Certain chemicals cause chronic diseases, neurological disorders and damage to genetic material, and some affect fertility by disrupting the endocrine system.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2019, a small number of chemicals for which data are available were responsible for 2 million deaths from a variety of health outcomes including poisonings, heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers.

The bodies of EU citizens are contaminated by a range of harmful chemicals above safe levels, according to the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU), which collected and analysed data from harmonised human biomonitoring studies across Europe. Some of the chemicals found in human samples include bisphenol A, phthalates, perfluorinated compounds, flame retardants, cadmium, mercury, lead, and pesticides.

How chemicals impact the environment

Chemical pollution also negatively affects the environment, which in turn can harm human health. Some hazardous chemicals are persistent, meaning they do not break down easily in the environment, and bioaccumulative, meaning they build up in the tissues of living organisms. They can travel long distances through air, water and soil, and reach remote areas where they were never used or released.

Some chemicals can disrupt the functioning of ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, and affect the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination, water purification, and climate regulation. For example, pesticides can kill beneficial insects, such as bees, that are essential for crop production. Mercury can contaminate fish and shellfish, posing a risk to human health and food security. Plastic waste can degrade into microplastics, which can be ingested by marine animals and enter the food chain.

How to prevent and reduce chemical pollution

The sound management of chemicals and waste is essential for protecting human and environmental health. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) works to minimize the adverse effects of chemicals and waste by promoting the implementation of international conventions and agreements, such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

The EU also has a comprehensive set of chemical policies designed to protect citizens, workers, and the environment from hazardous chemicals, such as the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) Regulations.

However, these efforts are not enough to address the growing and complex challenges posed by chemical pollution. There is a need for more action at all levels, from governments to businesses to consumers, to prevent and reduce the exposure to harmful chemicals and to promote the development and use of safer alternatives.

We are all poisoned, but we can also be part of the solution. By raising awareness, demanding information, choosing wisely, and taking action, we can protect ourselves and the planet from chemical pollution.

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