Ideal Chemical Policy


A good policy chemical prioritizes the problem or public health concern, while addressing the major effects it has on people or the environment. Another element of a good policy is specific action steps, such as the numbers or outcomes expected from implementing the policy. It is supported by sound evidence, and takes into account current best practices but also addresses the limitations of each. Lastly, it should include the evaluation and regulation part to ensure the policy is working and being complied with.

An example of a policy with good evaluation is the European Union's (EU) regulation that prevents any pesticide from being released onto the market without it being proven safe for consumption and does not harm the environment. The two-step approval process involves both the EU and the individual member states. To ensure the regulation is being followed after approval, there is a monitoring program that measures levels of pesticides against limits set by the European Food Safety Authority.  These are called maximum residue levels, which are measured in more than 67,000 food samples every year.

Comments

  1. Jordan DemosOctober 20, 2018 at 6:01 PM

    Stacey,

    I agree 100% with your ideal policy. The most important statement is the regulation part, and making sure that the policy is enforced and checked on a regular basis.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Caitlin WintonOctober 21, 2018 at 12:53 PM

    Hi Stacey,

    I'm really glad that you brought up the EU regulations. They set a great example and the United States should follow suite and use these regulations as examples for environmental health and chemical policy

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 7, 2018 at 8:42 AM

    Hi Stacey,

    What a smart idea to release pesticides into market ONLY after its deemed safe! Make sure really wonder how much of mother earth and our health we sacrificed for monetary gain. Is it worth it? Since we now have more knowledge about the harmful chemical and their effect on health, we will go forward with a movement towards finding ways to preserve our earth and also live in a way that can reduce not just our but all the vulnerable population from exposure to these chemicals.

    ReplyDelete

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