Industrial chemicals are chemicals developed for use in chemical processing industry. Some industrial chemicals are only used in the process of industrial production while many others are used as material in commercial products that appear in the consumer market.
Grade broad industrial chemicals, include: solvents, reactants, lubricants, coatings, dyes, ink, mastic, stabilizers, plasticizers, fragrances, fire barriers, conductors and insulators. Significant exposure to many of these industrial chemicals can produce harmful effects for people or the environment.
Some industrial chemicals are POPs. The human health effects of industrial chemicals that are POPs can range from mild skin irritation, dizziness and headaches to chronic effects on the immune, reproduction, nervous and endocrine systems. Some industrial pops are also recognized as cancer-causing agents. All share the common POPs characteristics, they:
- remains intact for a very long period of time (for years);
- become widely distributed throughout the environment as a result of natural processes involving soil, water and, most notably, air;
- accumulates in the fat network of living organisms including humans, and are found at higher concentrations at a higher level in the food chain; and
- Toxic for humans and wildlife.
