Environmental effects of novel materials and applications

Response to a study by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. 

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the scoping of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's (RCEP) study on the environmental effects of novel materials and applications.

The RSC is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences.  Supported by a network of 44,000 members worldwide and an internationally acclaimed publishing business, our activities span education and training, conferences and science policy, and the promotion of the chemical sciences to the public.

In scoping its study, the RSC recommends that the RCEP must first be clear as to what constitutes a novel material for the purposes of this study and therefore what breadth of substances will be covered. The term 'material' is used to describe a whole host of substances and the usage of the term varies amongst different scientific and lay communities. Consequently, the RSC recommends that the RCEP considers two methods of categorising novel materials. Firstly, novel materials should be categorised by their chemical and physical structure and properties as this may have some bearing on their environmental effect. Secondly, novel materials could be categorised properties and applications.