With more than 70,000 chemicals currently in common use—and 1,000 new chemicals coming into use every year—maintaining and managing their effective, appropriate, and responsible use is a challenging task. Cost, process, regulatory, and safety issues converge to make chemical management a critical, complex, and cumbersome activity.

But by implementing a range of measures on site and across businesses, the risks associated with chemical use can be eliminated. To start, it’s important to have a solid understanding of exactly what chemicals are being used at each facility—and what compliance documentation is required for each chemical, including waiver documentation, if appropriate.

Building out an inventory of chemicals is crucial to fully understanding how exposed your business might be—not only to regulatory noncompliance but also to the risk of pollution or breaches of internal health and safety policies.

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