Project Details:

The Social Responsibility of Chemists: Responsible Stewardship

Project No.:2006-043-3-050
Start date:2006-04-01
End date:2008-05-29
Division:Committee on Chemistry Education
Objective:
This project is aimed to disseminate new educational means in the fieldof the chemistry education for sustainable development and educationfor responsible stewardship, and to promote all aspects of chemistry,not just among the members of the profession, but increasingly to theworldwide community. Chemical education can be effectively used forthis purpose because chemistry as a fundamental science and as a scientificbasis for a variety of technologies in different branches of industryis deeply involved in the progress of modern civilization.
Description:
An earlier project dealt mainly with the problem of multiple use of chemicals (see project #2005-028-1-050). The disseminated materials included the outlines of two lectures (chemicals with possibilities of multiple use and the OPCW Convention on Chemical Weapons; history of development of codes of conducts for chemists). The audience of the final workshop consisted of chemistry educators and graduate students. The survey made showed the great interest of the audience. The materials are now available at the Green Chemistry Clearing House web-site (in Russian) supported by the Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (MUCTR).

This project is aimed at the wider community (including the leading researchers, people from chemical industry and decision makers). As the official environmental monitoring data show, the economic and industrial recovery of Russia and former Soviet republics is resulting now in the deterioration of the quality of the environment, due to old technologies used and little attention paid by the industry and policy decision makers to the rational use of energy and natural resources. The other emerging problem is the danger of chemical and biochemical terrorism. Recently in Russia and other countries of CIS, the cases of explosions (in which students of chemistry departments had been involved) have been investigated. Urgent measures are to be taken by the chemistry community (scientists, educators and the practitioners).

This project will culminate as the Symposium "The Social Responsibility of Chemists: Green Chemistry" during the XVIII Mendeleyev Congress on General and Applied Chemistry to be held in Moscow, 23-28 Sept 2007. The Mendeleyev Congresses are regularly held every 3-4 years, with about 1000 participants from Russia and abroad and are considered to be the most important event for chemists and chemistry educators from Russia and CIS (www.chemend.ru). The Symposium (about 200 participants) will make a contribution to the facilitation of the exchange of scientific information and expertise between educators and researchers working in the field of green chemistry, multiple use of chemicals, education for sustainable development. It will also make a contribution to promoting awareness about the Chemistry Weapons Convention (CWC) and its implementation in the scientific community and provide additional impetus to developing a culture of responsibility and compliance within the scientific community with international norms, including the CWC. This project pertains to the chemical aspects of important issues of international concern including the issue of global climate change, transboundary pollution, and terrorism.

The Green Chemistry concept, theory and practice, will be the other topic of the Symposium. Green Chemistry concept is one of the brightest practical manifestations of social responsibility of chemists, as well as CWC. The Symposium will help develop the scientific basis for practices and procedures that protect society and encourage responsible and sustainable development. It will promote the service of chemistry to society in both developed and developing countries and will help foster green chemistry in developing countries and in countries in transition.

The questions related to the public reaction to the problems of destruction of chemical weapons and risk assessments in chemical industry will be dealt with in the presentations submitted. This project utilizes global perspective of IUPAC to contribute toward the enhancement of education in chemistry and to advance the public understanding of chemistry and the scientific method.

Progress:

> Symposium Program [pdf file- 13KB] (section 13, pp. 44-45 extracted from www.chemend.ru/docs/english/section.pdf)

> report published in Chem Int Mar-Apr 2008, pp. 23-25

project completed

Last update: 29 May 2008

Chairman: