Signal A third of chemical structures unknown and 95 percent never measured

Summary

The report holds that the gravest risks from novel entities lie in what is still unknown. About 350,000 chemicals and mixtures are registered worldwide, and for roughly a third of them the structure is either unknown or not public. Around 95 percent of the substances registered for use have never been measured in the environment. Exposure levels for most substances are not known, especially in low-income countries, and there is no ongoing global monitoring of toxic pressure on living organisms. Apart from a few well-studied cases, there is no evidence on the disease burden caused by novel entities. The report warns that by the time such effects become widely recognized, it may be too late to reverse them.