I happened to be in a Philadelphia grocery store last weekend when the city sent out an emergency alert (the terrifying “take cover” variety you expect for a tornado or incoming missiles) telling people to switch to bottled water. Chaos ensued, and taht is in my supposedly high class “gentrified” neighborhood (which is filthy by the way, lacks adequate services, is relatively diverse in terms of race of religion, and does admittedly have high rent and property taxes for us working schmucks who actually have to pay them – but I digress…)

Chemicals are terrifying. Also necessary and useful for modern industrial civilization. This article in Vox does a reasonably balanced job of talking about them. The trick

There’s a reason plastics and petrochemicals are in nearly everything. They’re dirt cheap — and useful. The industry has become extremely efficient at converting fossil fuels into sets of materials that are lighter in weight and pliable, making them as adaptable for medical equipment as they are for lip balm, nail polish, clothing, and single-use coffee cups.

But the adaptability comes at a cost. These chemicals can conceivably be produced and transported safely — at least on paper. But the volume of accidents shows how often they aren’t. In 2022, according to federal data, there were more than 20,000 recorded times hazardous materials caused injury, accidents, or death while in transit. “It’s a very risky chain every step of the way,” said Judith Enck, a former regional EPA administrator and president of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.

Those risks aren’t going away anytime soon. Petrochemical production in the US is booming, derived from the larger boom in US oil and gas supply. And the industry’s broadening footprint means more communities are coming in direct contact with carcinogens and endocrine-disruptors that affect humans and animals in ways scientists still don’t fully understand. Most of the time, people aren’t coming into contact with petrochemicals through train derailments, but in more mundane ways.

Vox

Solutions exist. First, identify the chemicals that are not useful and not proven safe and just ban them unless and until they can be proven safe. Antimicrobial hand soap is one I like to pick on. And all that shit they put in shampoo that doesn’t need to be there. Second, identify the chemicals that are useful but not safe. All kinds of plastics, building materials, and energy related chemicals fall in this category. Water disinfectants, food preservatives, cleaning chemicals. A risk management structure is the rational approach here – minimize the risks of manufacturing, transporting, and using these things. Get a handle on how safe they really are. If they are not 100% safe for people and the environment, keep looking to substitutes that are safe and equally effective.

There are rational tradeoffs to be made between comfort and convenience on the one hand, and health and safety risks on the other hand. But our politicians who are bought and paid for by the chemical-industrial complex are not in a position to be in responsible charge of this.