From risk to sustainability

As an ecotoxicologist, I am expected to deal with risks. But how do risks refer to sustainablity? Defining sustainablity as meeting the four systemconditions, does not exclude risks as such. So what are we talking about? Yes - unsustainable use of chemicals and unsustainable risks. There are a lot of risks as well as chemicals that actually is and should be a part of life, but therefore it is important to be more stringent and constructive. Avoiding risks or chemicals in general term of speaking do not help us at all.

Let us find out the priority chemicals that should be phased out, by using the criterias that are most relevant for the systemconditions i.e. degradablity, accumulation, hormone disrupters etc.

But the alternative solutions must be set in a sustainablity perspective, in order to have an economic sustainable driver for the innovator. We have to be sure that an alternative must at least live as long on the market, it can give enough payback. Switching from a fossil plastic to an GMO-based renewable might be a risky investment from bizz AND environmental point of view. A closed loop system with Nylon 6 is perhaps much more better idea?

Nature laws rules - even if PVC lobbyists corrupts the Commission

There is an increasing number of standards, tools, institutions, legislations etc that deals with environmental issues. Some of them are used with good intentions, but any of them can be misused very easily too.

Many of the bad guys, eg nuclear power plants, manufacurers of brominated flame retardants etc. are the first one to be certified with ISO 14001. From my point of view this is nothing else than greenwash. But the smartest and the most successful action of greenwash I ever have seen, is the "LCA of PVC and of Principal Competing Materials" comissioned by the European Commission, 2004.

I dont know how the PVC industry succeeded to take the control over the commissions work, but the outcome was a hughe report with a confusing rationale and invalid conclusions without any qualified scientific review and opposition. So, the the conclusion of the inconclusive report from the PVC industry was: "PVC is not worse than any other material". Wonderful! It is like when somebody says "I do not understand how to see the differences between a good and a bad horse, so all horses must be equal"!!

I could make this evalution much cheaper and shorter. All manufacturing, recycling, incineration processes are inherently associated to the formation och POPs, more or less. As long as we allow this material, the earth will accumulate persistent byproducts i.e dioxins. This is unsustainable according to system condition no 2, because this is according to the nature laws. The nature is not negoiatable in this perspective.