Chemicals, while bringing benefits to society, may be released during their lifecycles and possibly cause harm to humans and ecosystems. Chemical pollution has been mentioned as one of the planetary boundaries within which humanity can safely operate, but is not comprehensively understood. Here, 22 chemical inventories from 19 countries and regions are analyzed to achieve a first comprehensive overview of chemicals on the market as an essential first step toward a global understanding of chemical pollution. Over 350 000 chemicals and mixtures of chemicals have been registered for production and use, up to three times as many as previously estimated and with substantial differences across countries/regions. A noteworthy finding is that the identities of many chemicals remain publicly unknown because they are claimed as confidential (over 50 000) or ambiguously described (up to 70 000). Coordinated efforts by all stakeholders including scientists from different disciplines are urgently needed, with (new) areas of interest and opportunities highlighted here.

中文翻译：

---

建立全球对化学污染的认识：对国家和地区化学库存的首次全面分析。

化学品虽然可以为社会带来好处，但在其生命周期中可能会释放出来，并可能对人类和生态系统造成伤害。化学污染已被认为是人类可以安全运行的星球边界之一，但尚未得到全面理解。在此，对来自19个国家和地区的22种化学品清单进行了分析，以对市场上的化学品进行首次全面概述，这是迈向全球了解化学污染的重要第一步。已登记生产和使用超过35万种化学药品和化学混合物，是先前估计数量的三倍，并且在不同国家/地区之间存在很大差异。一个值得注意的发现是，许多化学物质的身份仍然是未知的，因为它们被声称是机密（超过5万种）或模棱两可的描述（多达7万种）。迫切需要所有利益相关者（包括来自不同学科的科学家）的共同努力，这里重点介绍（新）感兴趣和机遇的领域。