Few things are more important than our health. We take supplements, exercise and pay attention to what we eat, all with the intention to improve our health and quality of life. Yet, our health is inextricably tied to our surroundings. Chemicals are a part of our daily life and modern society, used in everything from consumer products to manufacturing and agriculture, healthcare, construction and beyond. At the same time, if not properly managed, our exposure to them can contribute to a range of negative health effects, from non-fatal cancer to chronic kidney disease.
When setting chemicals regulations, policymakers need to be able to compare apples-to-apples, weighing the economic costs of potential chemicals regulations against their economic benefits. To understand the net benefits of a given regulation, information on both potential fatal and non-fatal health effects of chemicals exposure is needed. Unfortunately, we have historically lacked information on the latter. Without adequate data, it becomes quite difficult to correctly weigh the costs and benefits of reducing chemicals-related health effects, thus increasing the risk that regulations are not set at the appropriate level.
The OECD Surveys on Willingness-to-pay to Avoid negative Chemicals-related Health Effects bridge this gap by providing evidence on the economic benefits of avoiding or reducing non-fatal health outcomes associated with chemicals exposure. This synthesis report brings together our current body of work, offering a guidebook for policymakers and regulators, with detailed quantitative results. It maps individual's willingness-to-pay to avoid or reduce the risk of experiencing 10 health effects, collected across 28 countries and gathering insights from over 100 000 respondents. What stands out quite clearly is that people are willing to pay a significant amount to protect their health and those closest to them. Taking these findings one step further, the report provides guidance for transferring derived estimates to non-surveyed countries and health effects, as well as across policy areas.
Through the information we provide herein, regulators will be well-equipped to select and calibrate policies at their optimal level across chemicals, environment and health sectors.
Jaime de Bourbon de Parme
Environment Director
OECD
