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In a perfect world, any attempt to replace a hazardous chemical in our industrial economy with a safer alternative will, before that alternative is selected for use, consider its impacts all along its full lifecycle. When all is taken together, is the proposed alternative as good as hoped, or does the search need to continue?
But in reality, that comprehensive examination doesn't always take place. As stated by the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry: "Traditional alternatives assessment frameworks often focus on hazard and exposure data without fully capturing the unequal burdens faced by workers, fenceline communities, and other vulnerable populations."
A new report, titled "Methods for Incorporating Environmental Justice into Alternatives Assessment" seeks to help mend that oversight. The report was published by the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, in partnership with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and UMass Lowell. The partners looked at the process of alternative assessment in the context of two case studies, and present detailed findings on how to ensure that broad Environmental Justice considerations are taken more fully into account.
