Career Choice and the Chemical Industry A Scientists for Global Responsibility Briefing By

The chemical industry is one of the major employers in science and technology. On the one hand, its products have greatly expanded the range of materials available to society but, on the other, some of the synthetic chemicals it produces cause significant harm to human health and to the environment. This briefing discusses the main ethical issues related to this industrial sector, as well as new developments in regulation and technology, and assesses how these affect career choice. It points to areas which have potential to improve the environmental and health performance of the sector.