Chapter 1:An Ethical Commitment and an Economic Opportunity

This chapter introduces the main concepts of so-called green analytical chemistry and sets in a historical framework the main contributions and developments aimed at avoiding the deleterious side-effects of analytical chemistry and establishing the basis of environmentally friendly analytical practice. The authors' thesis is that the future development of green analytical chemistry depends heavily on its two main characteristics: to be respectful to the environment and to offer new economic opportunities. Based on these two concepts it is easy to imaging the tremendous possibilities of greening the different methods of analysis and the use of the green criteria in all fields of application. So, in this preliminary chapter the reader will find topics that will be treated in depth in the subsequent chapters.