An ideal chemical policy I feel would need to consist of rule and regulations set in place to protect before protection is needed. Making it incredibly difficult for companies to begin producing a new chemical without running rigorous tests to see what impact it will have one humans and the environment. When I look at the policies in place currently, so much of it revolves around the after effects a chemical has already produced in our environment or even our own health. In my eyes this doesn't seem logical and should be the other way around. As we have seen time and time again the effects of chemicals is unsafe for humans and our environment, we need to nip this issue in the bud before it consumes all our clean water, air, and soil.
Environmental Justice as stated by the US EPA is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." When I think about all the places around the world that turn the other way when it comes to polluting the earth it breaks my heart. This feeling deepens as I learn how these incinerators, waste lands etc are developed and ran near less developed neighborhood or countries and in communities filled mostly with people of color. It seems to happen more often than not, due to lack of education, socioeconomic status, employment levels, and the physical environment. This fits into the concept of social determinants of health because those living in low income communities have less opportunity or options available to them when it comes to removing themselves from such toxic environments. It is unfortunate ...
I like this idea because we need to do a lot of damage control from chemicals that are already being used by industries today. This would be a great immediate action for health protection. In my post I wrote about creating stricter penalties for breaking laws that are already in place. The policies in place are actually pretty good, but if they are being repealed and not adhered to due to a lack consequence then they do nothing.
ReplyDeleteGod, I hate that the general population has to be the advocates for their own health. That they have to start being sick or dying to then even have testing on specific chemicals happen, let alone stricter regulations on it. It seems like a gross oversight in population protection with only chemical companies winning.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. Its hard to learn about all this and then see how uneducated the general public really are when it comes to things like chemicals being in literally everything and that these companies don't "know" the harmful affects even after those working in those environments are wearing hazard suits.
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