But the Global Chemicals Outlook states that the pace of progress has been slow, and that results are too often insufficient.

• Of the estimated 140,000+ chemicals on the market today, only a fraction has been thoroughly evaluated to determine their effects on human health and the environment.

• Among primarily OECD countries, the data indicate that inorganic chemicals such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid and organic chemicals such as styrene, formaldehyde, toluene and acetaldehyde are routinely among the air pollutants released in the highest quantities.

• Pollutants commonly discharged in large quantities in primarily OECD countries to surface waters include inorganic chemicals such as nitric acid/nitrate compounds, ammonia and manganese and organic chemicals such as methanol, ethylene glycol, phenol, toluene, and formaldehyde.

• Estimates suggest that up to 75 per cent of the e-waste generated in Europe and approximately 80 per cent of the e-waste generated in the United States goes unaccounted for.

• Poisonings from industrial and agricultural chemicals are among the top five leading causes of death worldwide, contributing to over 1 million deaths annually and 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years. The scope of unintended industrial accidents involving chemicals continues to grow rapidly.

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This chemical ‘intensification’ of economies, as termed by the UNEP report, means that synthetic chemicals are fast becoming the largest constituents of waste streams and pollution around the world - thereby increasing the exposure of humans and habitats to chemical hazards.

• In Sudan, studies show a three-fold elevated risk of mortality for pregnant women engaged in farming where pesticides are used.

• In Ecuador, bathing and drinking water used by villagers near an oil extraction site contained levels of petroleum hydrocarbons up to 288 times higher than European Community standards.

• A 2009 study of 212 chemicals in the United States found that all the substances examined were detected in some portion of the national population.

• Over 3000 chemicals are classified under the EU harmonized classifications as toxic to aquatic life, with levels of toxicity ranging between “very toxic” to “toxic with long lasting harmful effects”.