Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats to Life on Earth
Controlling pollution is important to conserving biodiversity
Urgent and precautionary action is required to address threats from the most hazardous industrial chemicals and pesticides. Recognizing the far-reaching effects of pollution on wildlife throughout the world, WWF:
- investigates toxic chemicals and their relationship to biodiversity and human health
- works to phase out and ban chemicals that threaten life on Earth
- seeks to identify and promote safe, effective, and affordable alternatives
WWF's mission recognizes that controlling pollution is important to conserving biodiversity. The motivation to ban toxic pesticides, industrial contaminants, and chemicals used in consumer products stems from a deeper understanding of the potential for contaminants to undermine the basic functions of entire ecosystems.
Finding Alternatives
Hazardous chemicals must be phased out and replaced with safer products and processes. Viable alternatives already exist for many dangerous chemicals. The challenge is to make these alternatives more widely known and available. In addition, governments and businesses must devote resources necessary to research and develop alternatives. It should the responsibility of businesses to ensure that their products do not contain harmful compounds and that they are not contaminating the environment.
Precautionary Action
Evidence continues to mount against already banned or restricted chemicals, which are the cause of widespread wildlife contamination. This toxic legacy is a warning: We need to prevent other hazardous chemicals from compounding the damage.
WWF endorses the precautionary principal as an overarching framework for decision-making. This approach calls for rigorous scientific inquiry into all relevant options and alternatives. It promotes progress and productivity while protecting wildlife, the environment, and human health.
Precaution should guide the review of both newly developed chemicals and those already in use. For the many chemicals that persist and bioaccumulate, or that are passed along through generations as "hand-me-down" poisons, there is no turning back once unleashed in the environment. The precautionary approach is needed to prevent serious or irreversible effects. Download related reading: "A Precautionary Approach to Toxic Chemicals"
Chemicals that threaten the health of wildlife and people can be substantially reduced, and future dangers averted, by ensuring that no chemicals are allowed on the market without basic information on their impacts.
The use of chemicals of very high concern should only be authorized when there is an overwhelming social need for the use and safer alternatives are not available. This will require new international regulations, such as the EU's REACH legislation, that promise to disclose missing data, to promote the innovation of safer alternatives, and to demand environmental accountability in global trade.
