SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY

BY SCOTT HOUGHTON

You will seldom find a person whose life has not been improved by synthetic chemicals. With advances in chemistry

over the last four hundred years, we have developed life-saving or -sustaining chemicals that have improved the

quality of life for all who have used it (penicillin comes to mind).

!In today’s world, synthetic chemicals are everywhere, which

is somewhat problematic.

While few will disagree with the notion that synthetic chemicals are extremely useful, that does not mean that some are developed and manufactured irresponsibly. This is a trend

brought to light in a New York Times Opinion piece co-authored by Rolf U. Halden from the Center for Environmental

Security at Arizona State and Robert S. Lawrence from the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins.

In their piece, they explain that there are 84,000 chemicals in commercial use with 500-1000 new ones

introduced annually. With oversight divided between the FDA (for chemicals ingested or applied to skin) and the EPA (chemicals applied to agriculture and environment),

there is no evaluation of the chemicals’ effects from chronic exposure to small doses or the impact of waste products (products that are discarded, but incompatible

with biodegradation).

An example they use to highlight this trend is that of triclosan and triclocarban. These are organohalogens designed to kill

bacteria and are commonly added to antibacterial soaps, cosmetics and other consumer products. However, chemicals

these have been classified as PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic) because of their effects on the human endocrine

system and contributions to antibiotic resistance in bacteria, creating highly immune “super bacteria” that human immune

systems have great difficulty combatting.

The fact that we don’t know the long-term effect of these chemicals is troubling.

DDT

Some may be more familiar with another PBT, “DDT”, a pesticide once used widely but wound up devastating wildlife populations. Blood test from current populations show that the DDT has persisted in their systems and the same effect could

be had by longterm exposure to triclosan or triclocarban.

How DDT Persists

These potentially negative effects aren’t quick to be noticed by regulators, either: Halden and Lawrence’s

study found that it usually takes an average of 14 years for red flags to be raised, acknowledged and acted upon.

The solution presented by Halden and Lawrence is threefold:

#1Make safety, health, and environmental compatibility

paramount in each stage of development process. !

It’s also incredibly important for manufacturers to begin accounting for the “end” of the life cycle of a

product to make sure there is a clear strategy to prevent the product’s being left to waste.

#2

Regulate chemicals in groups rather than individually. !

Rather than going through a process to deem each organohalogen chemical safe or unsafe, you can

evaluate the long term effects of many chemicals by the number and types of carbon-halogen bonds.

#3

Encourage manufacturers to make products from environmentally-responsible chemicals that will biodegrade within a reasonable amount of time.

!Substitutes for the harmful chemicals used at present are financially feasible and plentiful.

Thanks for Reading!

For more on Scott Houghton and Chemistry, please visit his site at

!http://scotthoughton.org