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Toxic Exposures and the Workplace

Environment and health NGOs and labour unions have long pointed to the lack of attention the federal government accords workplace exposures in its assessments and management of toxic chemicals. However, we are presently at a unique crossroads where government may finally be prepared to listen. Firstly, a recent consultation document issued by the Chemicals Management Plan (“Consulting on an integrated strategy for the protection of Canadian workers from exposure to chemicals”) marks a change in the program’s interest in workplace settings. Secondly, following the recent federal election, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change have both been mandated to “better protect people and the environment from toxins and other pollution, including by strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999”.

Spotlight

Borregaard

Borregaard owns and operates the world's most advanced biorefinery. By using natural, sustainable raw materials, Borregaard produces advanced and environmentally friendly biochemicals, biomaterials and bioethanol that replace oil-based products. Borregaard also holds strong positions in additives and fine chemicals. Borregaard has 1050 employees in factories and sales offices in 16 countries throughout Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Health, safety and environment are integrated into Borregaard's business plan. The company aims to show social responsibility and work actively with initiatives that can contribute to sound environmental and social development.

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Chemical Management

We need a global agreement that sets targets for reducing plastic waste

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What follows is an entirely personal take on the challenge of plastic waste and does not represent the views of ICIS or any other expert opinion I have sought out. The views are put forward in the spirit of debate as we move forward, as an industry, to solve the crisis of plastic waste.

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Chemical Management

The pandemic, climate change, plastic waste and the great divide: the world in 2025

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Chemical Management

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TEN YEARS AGO, fellowblogger Paul Hodgesand Ifirst highlighted the leading rolethat changing demographics would play in reshaping petrochemicals supply and demand. We have been emphasising the importance of demographics ever since. Demographics have, of course, always been a critical shaper of economies throughout human history. But during the last 70 years, there have been such major changes in demographics that the study of demographics must be at the very heart of your company’s strategy. The Babyboomer generation in the West led to a surge in demand as the rapid increase in babies born in the 1950s and early 1960s joined the workforce from the 1970s onwards. This helps explain high levels of inflation during that decade because too much demand was chasing too little supply. Another driver of inflation was the Middle East embargos against oil exports to the West because of the West’s support for Israel. Then came the 1990s and first the integration of Eastern Europe into the global economy. This helped dampen inflationary pressures because of the plentiful supply of workers in the east willing to work for low wages in export-focused factories. This reduced the cost of finished goods in the West. Next came Deng Xiaoping’s critically important“southern tour”in the early 1990s and China’s gradual integration into the global economy. China increasingly leveraged its very youthful population to again make cheap goods to export to the West. Hundreds of millions of young people were willing to migrate from the countryside to China’s coastal cities to work in export-focused manufacturing plants. The world began to talk about the “China price” and how it was further depressing global inflation.

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Chemical Management

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Article | July 14, 2022

What follows is an entirely personal take on the challenge of plastic waste and does not represent the views of ICIS or any other expert opinion I have sought out. The views are put forward in the spirit of debate as we move forward, as an industry, to solve the crisis of plastic waste.

Read More
Chemical Management

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Article | July 22, 2021

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Read More
Chemical Technology

Future-Proofing the Chemical Industry with Digitalization

Article | July 14, 2022

Petrochemicals themselves remain in short supply. This is partly because of reduced feedstock from refineries, a consequence of the pandemic-related collapse in transportation fuels demand.Global petrochemical supply is still edging back to something like normal following the US winter storms in February, during which most US capacity was shut down. A point of discussion is whether containers will become available in the right places at the right prices to relieve tightness in the European polyethylene (PE) market, once US supply has normalised. The container issue is making it difficult to move PE and polypropylene (PP) cargoes from Asia to Europe.Market intelligence from the US-based ICIS CDI team indicates that enough container freight space will be available to resume significant shipments of US PE to Europe, albeit at high prices. It will be several more weeks before domestic pipelines have been refilled, enabling US producers to refocus on exports, added CDI.

Read More
Chemical Management

Demographics are reshaping petrochemicals trade flows, investment patterns and demand

Article | May 23, 2021

TEN YEARS AGO, fellowblogger Paul Hodgesand Ifirst highlighted the leading rolethat changing demographics would play in reshaping petrochemicals supply and demand. We have been emphasising the importance of demographics ever since. Demographics have, of course, always been a critical shaper of economies throughout human history. But during the last 70 years, there have been such major changes in demographics that the study of demographics must be at the very heart of your company’s strategy. The Babyboomer generation in the West led to a surge in demand as the rapid increase in babies born in the 1950s and early 1960s joined the workforce from the 1970s onwards. This helps explain high levels of inflation during that decade because too much demand was chasing too little supply. Another driver of inflation was the Middle East embargos against oil exports to the West because of the West’s support for Israel. Then came the 1990s and first the integration of Eastern Europe into the global economy. This helped dampen inflationary pressures because of the plentiful supply of workers in the east willing to work for low wages in export-focused factories. This reduced the cost of finished goods in the West. Next came Deng Xiaoping’s critically important“southern tour”in the early 1990s and China’s gradual integration into the global economy. China increasingly leveraged its very youthful population to again make cheap goods to export to the West. Hundreds of millions of young people were willing to migrate from the countryside to China’s coastal cities to work in export-focused manufacturing plants. The world began to talk about the “China price” and how it was further depressing global inflation.

Read More
MORE ARTICLES

Spotlight

Borregaard

Borregaard owns and operates the world's most advanced biorefinery. By using natural, sustainable raw materials, Borregaard produces advanced and environmentally friendly biochemicals, biomaterials and bioethanol that replace oil-based products. Borregaard also holds strong positions in additives and fine chemicals. Borregaard has 1050 employees in factories and sales offices in 16 countries throughout Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Health, safety and environment are integrated into Borregaard's business plan. The company aims to show social responsibility and work actively with initiatives that can contribute to sound environmental and social development.

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