TC S372 Product Environmental, Health and Safety Standards (Free Courseware)

The foundational knowledge you need to understand what ‘products’ are, and how they can be classified, designed, produced and disposed of in ways that best preserve and promote the integrity of the environment, and of human health and safety.

An introduction to product environmental, health and safety (EHS) performance

Living in a developed country, we use or come into close contact with hundreds or even thousands of products every day. These include common things such as your toothbrush, shoes, mobile phone, the dining utensils you used today, the highlighter you use for studying this course, and even the folder that holds the hard copy of this study unit.

But how much do you know about these items? It’s likely they were mass-produced in different factories around the world, some even in places you have never heard of. Obviously these are important questions. Imagine how you and the rest of society could be affected if the answer to any one of these questions is ‘yes’! The following are real-life examples.

There can be serious consequences if new products are launched into the market without thorough consideration of their effects on the natural environment and human health. The article in the following is about nanosilver particles, which are becoming increasingly popular in consumer goods.

According to the article, how might products with nanosilver affect the environment and our health? Surely it would be in everyone’s interest to prevent such unfortunate incidents from happening. Ensuring that a product is safe to use, is environmentally friendly, and poses the minimal threat human health can be a very complex task. Such achievements can only be possible via joint efforts in developing, maintaining, and cohering to product environmental, health and safety (EHS) performance standards.