On my sixth and last day in Amsterdam, I thoroughly packed away all my souvenirs and headed for the bus. However, before heading to Rotterdam, the group first made a two-hour drive towards Nouryon. This chemical manufacturing company specializes in remaining at the forefront of sustainable production. During the visit to one of Nouryon’s sites, we learned about the differences between risks and hazards, how the company tests new compounds and biodegradability, and much more.

A key component of manufacturing safety, Nouryon focuses on the importance of stopping risks by mitigating the access hazards people face. Hazards are the physically dangerous objects and materials that exist in the world. A pencil can be harmful if ingested, but the chance of exposure through consuming a pencil ends up being uncommon. Similarly, chemicals with extremely secure handling and or small dosages have little chance of exposure to the
environment–even if the chemical proves potently fatal. The spokesperson who presented on behalf of Nouryon remarked how the United States’ Federal Drug Administration (FDA) operates better than the European Union (EU) because the FDA prioritizes actual risks. Meanwhile, the EU bans several hazardous chemicals without considering actual risks, with the potential for even riskier options being the only choices left. In my future, I can support efforts to conduct thorough risk assessments over hazard assessments. An example would include nuclear energy, with a highly dangerous byproduct of nuclear waste, but a low exposure rate due to the security measures enforced. Nuclear power provides cleaner, more efficient power generation than any coal plant available, despite the fear of the hazards nuclear materials provide. Nouryon utilizes the EWS to quickly find materials to test that prove dangerous to humans and contain too high levels of exposure. The EWS can guide my future in sustainable engineering by working to understand whether my plans are hazardous with low exposure versus risky due to high exposure.

Another part of the tour involved an explanation of how the biodegradability labs test for dangerous chemicals and compounds. One part of the lab tests whether humans, by using batches of algae, will be harmed by certain chemicals. The scientists place algae samples with the compound and test a variety of environments to see how many algae survive. Algae survivability gets determined by how mobile the algae end up. Ensuring proper, non-cruel tests can be done for compound testing is crucial for minimizing animal and human harm.

The biodegradability tests involve looking for “forever-chemicals”. A forever-chemical (FC) refers to compounds that will not degrade until an obscenely large amount of time passes. These labs test the chemicals in wastewater to see if the compounds break down over time. If the compound does break down, it undergoes three more tests to see if it can go to the market for commercial use. The rigorous tests demonstrate the importance of conducting tests on only high-risk substances. Wasting resources and time on tests for products that do not actively threaten humans ends up squandering funds on tests for truly harmful compounds. Analytical testing is highly important for sustainability experiments, so working to understand the depths of these processes can help explain the need for proper assessments before tests are conducted.