March 13, 2006—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled the National Challenge Commitment for Priority Chemicals, a collaborative initiative to reduce industrial use of 31 priority chemicals. The challenge commitment seeks a 10 percent decrease in the use of one or more of the chemicals over three years at government and industrial facilities throughout the country.
According to EPA, priority chemicals are chemicals that are persistent in the environment, accumulate in living organisms, and toxic if released.
Reducing the volume of these chemicals in products and waste can reduce toxic chemical releases, reduce handling and disposal costs, and increase recycling.
The national challenge is sponsored by two voluntary EPA programs, the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities and the National Environmental Performance Track. Becoming an Environmental Priorities partner and implementing the challenge commitment can be the first step for companies to become full Performance Track members.
