WEBVTT

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As researcher or innovator,
you hope to contribute something of value to the world,

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like better health, equality, efficiency
or other improvements.

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However, that value is undermined when your work
unexpectedly turns out to cause significant harm.

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And innovations have unintended negative effects
more often than you’d think…

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Let’s look at a classic example.

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Meet Dr Thomas Midgley Junior,

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one of the 1900s most successful inventors.

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He accomplished incredible chemical innovations
such as a nifty little fuel additive

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to battle uncontrolled combustion
— or 'engine knocking'.

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Lead.

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Being inexpensive and highly effective,
leaded fuels were quickly sold
in just about every country around the world.

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By the 1960s,
the world fully realized how toxic

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lead-based exhaust fumes are
to humans and the environment.

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This eventually led to more and
more countries banning leaded fuels.

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When it was finally phased out entirely in 2021,

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it had incurred enormous health costs
and will continue to do so for decades.

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Dr Midgley Junior also developed a
substitution for the dangerous,
toxic coolants used in refrigerators.

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A gas called Freon
made the refrigerators safer to build and use.

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These Freon-fridges became a worldwide success.

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About sixty years later,
the world came to understand how Freon
causes severe damage to the ozone layer.

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Although their use is banned,
they still cause issues to human and
environmental health to this day.

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Dr Midgley Junior's solutions
initially seemed very beneficial

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but ended up causing enormous harm
to people and the environment globally.

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Now, Dr Midgley Junior practiced his science
in a time with hardly any attention
towards long-term safety and prevention.

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Although we now know a lot more,
we may still think of safety too
little and too late.

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Substances like forever chemicals,
microplastics and pesticides

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are just the latest examples of useful things
turning up in unexpected environments.

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Linked to an ecological decline
or to health concerns.

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When there is no better alternative,

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we knowingly use hazardous materials
with unique properties for much needed
technological advances,

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but without sufficiently considering
how to deal with these components

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once products reach their end of life.

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And with the high-paced development
of emerging technologies

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such as nanotechnology
and biotechnology,

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additional complexity
and more powerful capabilities

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make it even more urgent to understand
negative impacts and address safety early on.

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Because truth be told,
as modern inventors in every branch of science
seek out the next breakthrough technology,

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there was, and still is, insufficient attention
to safety in the earliest phases
of research and development.

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And it is at these early stages
that a substantial part of an innovation's
eventual impact is determined,

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positive and negative.

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That is why, to achieve a safe,
healthy and sustainable living environment,

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it is crucial to be considerate of
the potential safety concerns

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from the very start of the innovation process.

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To do so,

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innovators and researchers
have to imagine what challenges must be overcome

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to consider safety from
the earliest stages of innovation.

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And address problems even before they arise.

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What challenges do YOU see
in overcoming these early stage problems?

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Can you imagine what it takes to truly apply
Safe-by-Design in your work?

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Have a think about this,
or take a look at our other educational materials
on Safe-by-Design!