為什么綠色化學(xué)的興起如此重要

為什么綠色化學(xué)的興起如此重要

Green chemistry is an emerging focus among manufacturing industries that minimizes pollution at a molecular level. The idea is that companies can adopt new scientific processes to minimize the toll their products take on the environment.

綠色化學(xué)是一個新興的焦點，在制造業(yè)中，能最大限度地減少污染的分子水平。其理念是，公司可以采用新的科學(xué)方法，將產(chǎn)品對環(huán)境的影響降到最低。

Chemicals used to manufacture consumer products often find their way into the environment. (Photo: Aleksey Kurguzov/Shutterstock)

To bring the need for green chemistry home, consider your favorite pair of jeans. An estimated 2,500 gallons of water, along with a pound of chemicals and staggering amounts of energy went into making them, according to the American Chemical Society.

想要把綠色化學(xué)的需求帶回家，考慮一下你最喜歡的牛仔褲。據(jù)美國化學(xué)學(xué)會估計，在制造過程中使用了大約2500加侖的水，以及一磅化學(xué)物質(zhì)和驚人的能量。

"Multiply that by 2 billion — the number of jeans produced worldwide every year — and you get a snapshot of an industry that contributes a hefty share of wastewater and greenhouse gases to the environment," the organization notes in a press release.

該組織在一份新聞稿中指出:“如果把這個數(shù)字乘以20億——全世界每年生產(chǎn)的牛仔褲數(shù)量——你就會對這個排放大量廢水和溫室氣體的行業(yè)有一個大致的了解。”

That simple example only involves the process of making jeans, a process that many people are aware of. But chemicals are a mainstay in just about every manufacturing process — from synthetic dyes in clothing that end up leaching into waterways to fertilizer chemicals that seep into soil.

這個簡單的例子只涉及到牛仔褲的制作過程，很多人都知道這個過程。但是化學(xué)物質(zhì)在幾乎所有的生產(chǎn)過程中都是支柱——從衣服中的合成染料滲入到水里，到化肥化學(xué)品滲入到土壤中。

Which is where green chemistry comes in. Here's how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines it:

這就是綠色化學(xué)發(fā)揮作用的地方。以下是美國環(huán)境保護(hù)署(EPA)的定義:

"Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, use, and ultimate disposal. Green chemistry is also known as sustainable chemistry."

綠色化學(xué)是指減少或消除有害物質(zhì)的使用或產(chǎn)生的化學(xué)產(chǎn)品和工藝的設(shè)計。綠色化學(xué)適用于化學(xué)產(chǎn)品的整個生命周期，包括其設(shè)計、制造、使用和最終處理。綠色化學(xué)也被稱為可持續(xù)化學(xué)。”

It represents a much-needed turnaround for industries that have long relied on chemicals with dubious reputations. Think of it as "good" chemistry, the kind that seeks to repair the damage of processes that brought us acid rain, fertilizers in rivers and lakes, and a hole or two in the ozone layer.

對于長期依賴名聲不佳的化學(xué)品的行業(yè)來說，這是一個亟需的轉(zhuǎn)變。把它想成是“好的”化學(xué)物質(zhì)，這種化學(xué)物質(zhì)試圖修復(fù)給我們帶來酸雨、河流和湖泊里的化肥以及臭氧層上的一兩個空洞的過程所造成的破壞。

Going back to the example of jeans, Levi Strauss & Co. has "fully banned" the use of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in denim in favor of a safer, greener chemical. PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals" have been linked to a litany of ailments, including cancer. They're also increasingly turning up in drinking water.

回到牛仔褲的例子，李維斯公司已經(jīng)“完全禁止”在牛仔布中使用全氟烷基物質(zhì)(PFAS)，轉(zhuǎn)而使用更安全、更環(huán)保的化學(xué)物質(zhì)。PFAS也被稱為“永久化學(xué)物質(zhì)”，與包括癌癥在內(nèi)的一系列疾病有關(guān)。它們也越來越多地出現(xiàn)在飲用水中。

In Malaysia, picking through open landfills for recyclable trash is a way of life for poor families. (Photo: Augustine Bin Jumat/Shutterstock.com)

The amount of clothing waste alone is dizzying. As Newsweek reports, in the last 20 years, American have doubled that waste from 7 million to 14 million tons annually.

光是服裝垃圾的數(shù)量就令人眼花繚亂。據(jù)《新聞周刊》報道，在過去的20年里，美國每年的垃圾數(shù)量翻了一番，從700萬噸增加到1400萬噸。

But what happens when those clothes start to break down?

但是當(dāng)這些衣服開始壞掉的時候會發(fā)生什么呢?

"Despite considerable improvement over the last three decades in the control of toxic substances released to the environment during the production of chemicals, concern is growing about chemicals detected in the environment which are persistent, can bioaccumulate and/or are toxic," the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes on its website.

“盡管過去三十年來，在控制化學(xué)品生產(chǎn)過程中釋放到環(huán)境中的有毒物質(zhì)方面取得了相當(dāng)大的進(jìn)步，但人們越來越擔(dān)心，在環(huán)境中檢測到的化學(xué)物質(zhì)具有持久性、生物累積性和/或毒性。”經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織(OECD)在其網(wǎng)站上指出。

The organization is calling for more research into the "significant gaps in knowledge about the characteristics, effects and exposure patterns of chemicals on the market."

該組織呼吁對“有關(guān)化學(xué)品在市場上的特性、影響和接觸模式的知識方面的顯著差距”進(jìn)行更多的研究。

In addition, the organization is pushing for more scrutiny of the types and amounts of chemicals in consumer products — and how they eventually find their way into the natural world.

此外，該組織正在推動對消費品中化學(xué)物質(zhì)的種類和數(shù)量進(jìn)行更多的審查——以及它們最終是如何進(jìn)入自然界的。

Green chemistry will have an important role to play in making products that aren't just safe for humans, but also the environment.

綠色化學(xué)將在制造不僅對人類安全，而且對環(huán)境安全的產(chǎn)品方面發(fā)揮重要作用。