Green Chemistry: Innovations for an Environmental and Economic Prosperity by Dr. Paul Anastas

Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, discusses scientific advances in the design of intrinsically safe and environmentally benign products and the resulting paradigm shift in understanding the relationship between people, chemicals, and the environment. Historically, products and processes have been regulated with the goal of reducing toxicity to acceptable levels based on human health risks. Green Chemistry is a powerful tool that can be used to mitigate the problem of toxicity before it occurs. Demonstrated successes across industry sectors have shown that Green Chemistry approaches can lead to reduced hazard, improved performance, and economic growth simultaneously.