Abstract
As indicated in Chapter 1, there are about 100,000 chemical substances presently in commercial use in the world. The number is growing annually. Chemicals are relied upon to maintain the high standard of living in Western countries: solvents, adhesives, polishes, detergents, waxes, cleansers, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are just some of the chemicals in use. Many of these products find their way into the environment from the workplace and from the home, through their manufacture, use or disposal. For example, the Great Lakes Water Quality Board has identified over 450 toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes in varying concentrations.
We believe the magnitude of the public risk associated with the toxic chemicals currently is increasing and will continue to do so until we are successful in controlling the introduction of these chemicals into our environment, (us Surgeon General, 1980)
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© 1991 Raymond P. Côté & Peter G. Wells
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Rankin, M. (1991). The legal perspective. In: Côté, R.P., Wells, P.G. (eds) Controlling Chemical Hazards. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6849-6_9
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