ASrIA - Introduction

We are living in a world where the use of chemicals is part of everyday life. Although we benefit in many aspects, we do not necessarily fully understand or have information on associated risks. To put this in context, according to the European Union (EU), there are roughly 100,100 chemicals in commercial use today with around 2,000 new chemicals introduced each year. Alarmingly, 99% of the chemicals we use remain untested, such that we have at best limited information about their impacts on human health and the environment.

As our scientific understanding improves, we are discovering that chemicals used extensively in the past, such as PVC, are hazardous to human health and the environment through their manufacture, use and disposal. Given the pace of scientific and technological advancement, this trend of discovery looks set to continue.

On the other hand, the use and emission of chemicals that had been traditionally defined as harmful has substantially decreased since the 1980s. One example of this is DDT, the first modern pesticide developed early in World War II, but banned in most countries in 1970s after its harmful effects were discovered. A series of chemical-related incidents in the 1970's and 1980's, together with severe health outbreaks, provided an impetus for international bodies as well as national regulators to tighten environmental legislation regarding the manufacture, use and disposal of chemicals.

The ASrIA Toxic Chemicals portal aims to provide direction to the latest developments on toxic chemicals, related issues and the resources available to help investors, coporates and individuals gain an insight into potential risks. This portal addresses international and national regulatory trends as well as initiatives taken by the finance community such as shareholder resolution filings by investors and best practice examples by corporates. The ASrIA Toxic Chemicals Portal is composed of the following eleven sections including:

The ASrIA Toxic Chemicals Portal is the by-product of a three-month ASrIA research process which included a range of meetings with Asian companies, government officials, researchers, community groups, and supply chain experts. Our work in this area was done in partnership with Dr. Richard Liroff of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) in the US who has worked extensively on the toxic chemicals issue with investors, companies and NGOs. Our research "Toxic Chemicals--Asian Investors are At Risk" is also available at: http://www.asria.org/publications/lib/070212_toxic_report.pdf).

In addition, it is worth paying attention to IEHN's new 20-minute "short course" video, entitled "Toxic Chemicals in Products: Financial Risks and Opportunities". Our Executive Director, Melissa Brown is featured 6-minutes into the video:

The video, designed to provide insights on how toxic chemicals in products relate to investment risk and opportunity, focuses on numerous companies, including Wal-Mart, SC Johnson, DuPont, and features comments by leading experts and investors. To comment on this portal, feel free to send us an e.mail at ykpark@asria.org.