From chemistry sets to chemical weapons, from plastics to pesticides, and from air pollution to Agent Orange, industrial chemicals have transformed the way we live. Industrial chemicals have brought many good things to life, but at what cost - disease, disaster and death. This timely collection of original essays traces the migration of synthetic chemicals from the laboratory to the factory and then into our environment, bodies and communities. The impact these chemicals have on our ecosystems, human health and political processes is addressed by the the contributors, breaking new ground by focusing on the production and distribution of these potentially hazardous agents themselves rather than just detailing their effects. Synthetic Planet is a first-rate, cohesive argument about the risks of chemicals to the natural world - an issue that can no longer be ignored.