Industry & Applied R&D
Chemical manufacturing: regulation, process safety, data and societies
Chemical manufacturing turns raw materials into basic commodity chemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, coatings and specialty products, and its research practice is shaped as much by regulation and process safety as by journals. In the United States the Toxic Substances Control Act, as amended by the 2016 Lautenberg Act, requires the EPA to assess new chemicals before they enter commerce and to evaluate existing ones. The TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory lists substances made, processed or imported in the US, and Chemical Data Reporting collects manufacturing and import data in cycles, the most recent in 2024. Pesticides are registered by the EPA under FIFRA, with data, labelling and submission requirements set out for conventional, biopesticide and antimicrobial products.
In the European Union, REACH requires companies that make or import a substance at one tonne or more a year to register it, and the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki runs the system, along with the classification and labelling rules. Hazard communication rests on the UN Globally Harmonized System. Process safety is its own field of practice: the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.119 governs highly hazardous chemicals, HAZOP studies remain the main hazard identification method, and the US Chemical Safety Board publishes root cause investigations of industrial accidents.
Peer-reviewed work appears in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Organic Process Research & Development and Green Chemistry, and ChemRxiv carries preprints. AIChE, IChemE and the Society of Chemical Industry are the main learned bodies, and Responsible Care is the industry's own programme. Researchers and administrators must confirm which jurisdiction's inventory a substance sits in, whether an exemption or registration applies, and which process safety obligations attach to a pilot or scale-up facility.
Reviewed 5 November 2026 by CASRAI Editorial Board
- EPA TSCA Inventory(read 5 November 2026)
- OSHA Process Safety Management(read 5 November 2026)
- EPA Basics of Green Chemistry(read 5 November 2026)
- EPA Pesticide Registration(read 5 November 2026)
- EPA Chemical Data Reporting(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: REACH(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: ECHA(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: TSCA(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: GHS(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: US Chemical Safety Board(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: American Chemistry Council(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: HAZOP(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: AIChE(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: IChemE(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Society of Chemical Industry(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: ChemRxiv(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: CAS(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Ind. & Eng. Chem. Research(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Org. Process Res. & Dev.(read 5 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Green Chemistry (journal)(read 5 November 2026)
Field at a glance
Journals
- Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
- ACS journal on all aspects of chemical engineering, founded in 1909 under an earlier title and published biweekly.Website ↗
- Organic Process Research & Development
- ACS process chemistry journal founded in 1997 and published monthly since 2012.Website ↗
- Green Chemistry
- Royal Society of Chemistry monthly journal on sustainable chemistry, founded in 1999.Website ↗
Societies
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
- Founded in 1908; publishes AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Progress and Process Safety Progress.Website ↗ · Our guide →
- Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
- Founded in 1922 with about 30,000 members; publishes Process Safety and Environmental Protection.Website ↗
- Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)
- UK learned society named in 1881; co-publishes journals with Wiley and the magazine Chemistry & Industry.Website ↗
Funders and programmes
- Responsible Care
- Industry programme implemented by the American Chemistry Council in 1988 and managed globally by ICCA; mandatory for ACC members.Website ↗
- US Chemical Safety Board (CSB)
- Independent federal agency, operating since 1998, that investigates industrial chemical accidents and finds root causes.Website ↗
- EPA pesticide registration
- EPA pages on registering pesticides under FIFRA, with manuals, fees and electronic submission.Website ↗
Archives, facilities and data
- TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory
- EPA list of existing chemical substances made, processed or imported in the US that are not exempt.Website ↗
- TSCA Chemical Data Reporting
- EPA collection of data on chemicals manufactured or imported; the latest cycle was 2024 and the next period is 2028.Website ↗
- CAS REGISTRY
- Chemical substance database behind CAS Registry Numbers, introduced in 1965; over 200 million substances as of 2023.Website ↗
- European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
- Helsinki agency running REACH, CLP, biocides and the SCIP database, with public registration data.Website ↗
Standards and formats
- OSHA Process Safety Management, 29 CFR 1910.119
- OSHA standard for managing hazards of processes using highly hazardous chemicals.Website ↗
- REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
- EU regulation requiring registration of substances made or imported at one tonne or more per year.Website ↗ · Our guide →
- Globally Harmonized System (GHS)
- UN-managed standard for hazard classification, pictograms and safety data sheets.Website ↗ · Our guide →
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- US law administered by EPA covering new and existing chemicals; amended by the 2016 Lautenberg Act.Website ↗
- HAZOP and IEC 61882
- Guideword-based hazard study method traced to ICI; IEC 61882 is its application guide, edition 2.0 from 2016.Website ↗
- 12 Principles of Green Chemistry
- EPA list of twelve design principles from waste prevention to accident minimisation.Website ↗ · Our guide →
Preprints and indexes
- ChemRxiv
- Free chemistry preprint archive opened in 2017, run by ACS, RSC, GDCh and other chemical societies.Website ↗
26 pages across 5 topic areas
Laboratory Operations & Safety
- Adhesive Bonding: How It Works, Joint Stresses and Failure Modes
How adhesive bonding works, the ASTM D907 vocabulary, five joint stress types, and how to diagnose adhesive, cohesive and substrate failures.…
- Chemical Safety Board (CSB): What It Investigates and What It Does Not Do
The Chemical Safety Board investigates serious chemical accidents and recommends changes; it issues no fines or citations. How it differs from OSHA.…
- Chlor-Alkali Process: Cells, Products and Mercury Phase-Out
Chlor-alkali explained: how mercury, diaphragm and membrane cells make chlorine and caustic soda, the 1.128 ratio, and the mercury phase-out dates.…
- Choosing a Chemical Inventory Management System for Your Lab
A buying guide to chemical inventory management software: what it does, why spreadsheets fail at audit, the regulatory drivers, how it differs from a…
- Corrosion Protective Coatings: How They Work and Main Types
Corrosion protective coatings compared: barrier, sacrificial and inhibitive routes, binder trade-offs, a failure checklist and ISO 12944 categories.…
- Custom Peptide Synthesis: Methods, Purity Grades, and an Ordering Checklist
Custom peptide synthesis explained: how peptides are built, what purity grades mean, which modifications exist, and a spec checklist for ordering.…
- Green Chemistry in the Lab: A Practical Guide to Solvent, Reagent, and Setup Selection
How to apply green chemistry principles to real purchasing and setup decisions in a working lab: choosing greener solvents and reagents, using solvent…
- Heterogeneous Catalysis: How Solid Catalysts Work
How heterogeneous catalysis works on solid surfaces, with ammonia and car-exhaust examples and why catalysts lose activity.…
- How to Read a Safety Data Sheet (SDS): The 16-Section GHS Guide
A practical, section-by-section guide to reading a Safety Data Sheet (SDS): what each of the 16 GHS-aligned sections covers, how it differs from a GHS…
- NFPA 704 Fire Diamond: Quadrants, Ratings, and How It Differs from GHS Labels
The NFPA 704 fire diamond rates hazards 0-4 with 4 the most severe, while GHS hazard categories run the other way with Category 1 the most severe. Wha…
- OSHA SDS Requirements: What Employers Must Actually Do
What OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires for safety data sheets: written programs, accessibility, training, retention, an…
- Steam Methane Reforming: Process Stages, Conditions and CO2
How steam methane reforming works stage by stage, why quoted temperatures and shares differ, and what capture changes, from DOE and NETL sources.…
- TSCA Form: How to Complete the Chemical Import Certification
What the TSCA form (import certification statement) is, the difference between positive and negative certification, who files it with CBP, and what re…
- TSCA R&D Exemption: What It Covers and What It Doesn't
The TSCA Section 5(h)(3) R&D exemption lets labs manufacture or import small quantities of new chemicals for research without filing a Premanufacture…
- Understanding GHS Labels: Pictograms, Signal Words, and Hazard Statements
A complete guide to reading GHS chemical labels: the nine pictograms, signal words (Danger/Warning), hazard statement (H-code) and precautionary state…
Laboratory Compliance & Quality
- Eyewash Station and Safety Shower Requirements: ANSI Z358.1 and OSHA
ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 and OSHA 1910.151(c) requirements for eyewash stations and safety showers: 10-second/55-foot travel distance, 15-minute flush, tepid…
- GHS Classification of Chemicals: How Hazard Classes and Categories Get Assigned to a Mixture
A worked GHS classification of a mixture under 29 CFR 1910.1200 Appendices A and B: which ingredients count, the acute toxicity additivity formula, sk…
- Lab Waste Disposal: RCRA Streams, Generator Status, and Disposal Routes
A research lab generates several legally distinct waste streams — RCRA hazardous chemicals, medical/biohazardous waste, sharps, radiological waste, an…
- REACH Regulation Compliance: What It Requires From a Chemical-Handling Research Lab
What EU REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) actually requires: the registration/evaluation/authorisation/restriction mechanics, SVHC and the Candidat…
- Written Hazard Communication Program for a Laboratory: Who Actually Owes One, and How It Nests Inside the Chemical Hygiene Plan
A laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.1450 owes a Chemical Hygiene Plan, not a written hazard communication program — but the stockroom, machine shop and pil…
Scholarly Publishing
- Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) Guide
A research-practice guide to Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), covering ACS governance, institutional access models, search syntax, and news analysi…
- Knovel Engineering Reference Platform Guide
A guide to Knovel for researchers and engineers: digitized reference books, interactive equations, material property search, and institutional licensi…
- Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
Explore Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry: 1,050 articles across 17 technical fields, search workflows, bi-monthly updates, and key alter…
Grants Management & Research Funding
- Plastics Industry Association: Standards Guide
Explore the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS): ANSI B151 machinery safety standards, Operation Clean Sweep stewardship, CES metrics, and compli…
- Responsible Care: ACC Requirements and RC14001
A guide to the Responsible Care program, covering RCMS vs RC14001 management systems, ACC compliance rules, third-party audits, and chemical safety co…
Research Methods & Statistics
- What Is Polymer Science? Research Areas, Funding, and Career Paths
Polymer science studies the synthesis, structure and properties of macromolecules. Research areas, methods, history, funding, societies and career pat…
