The Role of the Chemical Industry in Chemophobia

Abstract

The perception of the chemical field by the public has degraded proportionally with the growth of the industry. Chemical plants, as the largest source of chemical production and storage, have significant impact on the levels of chemophobia harbored in our society. Specifically, chemical disasters not only create significant loss, but they also work to propel the common distrust of chemistry in a dangerous direction. Repeated mishandling of distinct compound types coupled with disasters across the world harming thousands sends the message that our industry is unsafe and out of control. The preventable nature of these events demands that we seek means to curb the errors behind these major events within the industry required to support their importance to our economy and way of life in the United States. Additionally, we must strive to use educational approaches and constant dialogue as tools to surmount unfounded fears and augment public understanding of the nature and value of chemistry.

Keywords

• chemical plants
• industry
• chemophobia
• perception
• regulations
• education