A/HRC/36/41 income countries has outstripped the capacity of government regulators, creating governance gaps and heightened possibilities of impacts. B. Prevent and mitigate impacts 85. Businesses must actively seek to prevent the impacts of hazardous substances on the enjoyment of human rights. Prevention of impacts is best achieved through the elimination and substitution of the hazardous substances that are extracted, produced, manufactured, used, released or disposed of in the course of business activities. 86. When a means of elimination and substitution of toxics is not yet available, companies should mitigate exposure to toxic chemicals and the release of pollution to the best of their abilities. Consumers, communities and others who may be affected should be apprised of the risks. In instances where new information of hazards in products comes to light or environmental contamination results that requires remediation, businesses have a responsibility to prevent and mitigate impacts as quickly as possible, even if the State has not yet given orders to do so. C. Account for efforts to address impacts on human rights 87. Businesses, including those that use, produce, release and dispose of hazardous substances, have a responsibility to publicly communicate information about the risks created by their activities and how they mitigate and address both actual and potential human rights impacts in which they might be involved. 64 88. There is a shared responsibility among businesses that supply and use hazardous substances to communicate information to determine risks and prevent harm. 65 Companies throughout the chain of commerce should be responsible for providing the information, such as hazard, use and exposure information, necessary to assess the human rights risks posed by substances and materials.66 D. Key sectors Extractive and power industries 89. Extractive industries have a long and ongoing history of impacts on human rights. 67 The products extracted, the tailings, leachate and other waste materials, the substances used in processing and the by-products of energy production can all be hazardous and give rise to human rights abuses. Numerous business sectors discussed below have supply chains, investments and other relationships that require detailed attention in their own due diligence processes in determining whether their supply chains can be tied to human rights abuses in extractive industries. Chemical industry 90. Manufacturers of industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other chemical products have been responsible for human rights abuses resulting from the toxicity of their products, from unsafe conditions at facilities or from the inevitable pollution, contamination and waste produced by their products. Human rights due diligence must include the potential risk of abuse following the sale of toxic chemicals and pesticides, as well as the raw materials used for their production and the conditions at manufacturing facilities. Manufacturers have a responsibility to engage in continuous efforts to identify the 64 65 66 67 See principle 21 of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. See, for example, the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No. 170) of ILO. American Chemistry Council, “10 principles for modernizing TSCA” (2009). See A/HRC/21/48. 17