An overview: origins and development of greenchemistry

摘要

This article provides an overview of the origins and development of greenchemistry. Aiming to contribute to the understanding of green chemistry, basically from ahistorical point of view, this overview argues that contextual influences and the userfriendliness of the term are drivers for the explosive growth of green chemistry. It isobserved that political support for its development has been significant, in which thePollution Prevention Act of 1990 was a formal political starting-point, but informally theorigins of green chemistry go back to before 1990. US EPA played an important role in allthis, but did not solely contribute to the growth of green chemistry.