Chemicals

“Chemical” is a broad term but is usually understood to include an element or compound, including products of complex reactions. Many chemicals are found naturally, but regulated chemicals are usually produced through extractive or manufacturing processes.

Chemicals are present in every aspect of our daily lives – the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the medicines we take, the consumer products we buy and use. This situation reflects the benefits that chemicals have provided to the community through advances in manufacturing, crop and stock protection, human medicines and the safety and preservation of manufactured food.

Chemicals will continue to play a major role in Australian life for the foreseeable future. However chemicals can be potent, and their capacity to provide significant benefits carries with it a potential for harm if they are not used and managed with care.

The EPHC is working on a national approach to the environmental management of chemicals and has endorsed an action plan to manage dioxins.