For the first assignment in our contemporary chemistry class, Professor Johana Doe presented us with a question. Give or take a few words, she wanted to know what chemistry meant to each of us. Many of our classmates, including myself, responded to the proposed question with a not so surprising response. We each reasoned that chemistry meant little or nothing to our lives or us. I always looked at chemistry as a very annoying class that I took in high school that involved beakers and the periodic table of elements. I can now say with the utmost certainty after taking this class that chemistry means much more to me than “nothing.” Throughout this course I have come to realize that chemistry takes part in every thing that happens around …show more content…
It is my intention to educate my readers about what chemicals are found in the home, why they are so dangerous, and how we can work to limit the amount of these chemicals. In order to ultimately lessen the amount of toxins and chemicals in our homes that affect our everyday lives, we must first know what chemicals are in our homes and why they are so dangerous. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction of the more than 75,000 registered chemicals have gone through complete testing for human health concerns (reduce.org). The Consumer Protection Agency estimates that 150 chemicals found in the home are connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders. In our laundry rooms, for instance, we can find some of these solutions. These solutions include laundry detergent, all purpose cleaners, and bleach. Laundry detergent for instance contains cationic, anionic or non-ionic solutions. These solutions, if swallowed, can cause nausea, vomiting, shock, convulsions and coma (Young). For all of those who think to themselves, why would I ingest laundry detergent? I would like you to think about your small children or the small children of someone you know or even possibly your pets. Right next to our laundry detergent, I bet every one has a gallon of bleach. Bleach, which
1. An understanding of chemistry is important for an understanding of biology because biology needs the models of chemistry to better describe life.
The fear’s very existence is caused by the lack of easy-to-access chemistry information for the public. Much of the knowledge the average American receives on a daily basis is through coverage in popular culture, and chemistry is simply not mentioned as often as the two other major sciences, biology and physics, on a daily basis. In fact, the only direct relationship most Americans have with chemistry is in a high school lab. A survey by the Royal Chemical Society, the oldest non-profit chemistry society in the world boasting a membership of over 50,000, found “the two most common words adults associate with the word “chemistry” are “school” and “teacher.” Once a person ends their formal schooling, however, they rarely learn more about chemistry in a professional environment. Despite being just as, if not less, dangerous than biology and physics, chemistry is not feared as much by the public because it is not mentioned in everyday life as often as the other two sciences. When the European Space Agency’s Philae lander made contact with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the world watched in awe as a human invention made contact with a comet for the first time, an incredible achievement in the world of physics and astronomy. However, there was no attention given to the fact that the sole purpose of the Philae lander was to fix a chemistry lab to the surface of 67P. It is no wonder why physics took the
Chemistry relates to everything we touch, see, smell, hear, and taste because atoms make up everything in the universe. Chemistry influences so much in our everyday lives that it is hard to think of an activity that does not involve a chemical process in some way. The science also plays a major role in the human body. Our bodies are made up of chemicals, in fact almost 96% of our body mass is made up of four different elements: hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Besides the physical way I am affected by elements, chemistry also majorly affects me in my line of work as a certified nursing assistant. As a certified nursing assistant I work in a nursing home and
Water pollution is the addition of harmful substances to water. Some of these substances are found at home. What household chemicals might be harmful if not disposed of properly?
Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.
Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.
In the article “The Obligation to Endure” by Rachel Carson she explains the danger and harm that comes with using toxic chemicals such as pesticides on our crops. By doing so Carson brings to light that are numerous amounts of people that are un aware of the toxic chemicals that they are unknowingly inviting into their homes and bodies. This is also seen in “Preface” when author Carl G. Herndi says, “Writers need to make the invisible visible” (xxiv). Furthermore, this can be seen as a wake up call to all humanity. Both Carson and Herndl want to inform people onto what is going on in the world we live in, and to get people to start questioning rather harmful toxics are truly needed, and if so to what extreme.
The very chemicals that are used to treat our water to kills deadly toxins are the same chemicals that can pose health problems when digested for a period of time (EPA 2013). For instance, excessive consumption of fluoride over a lifetime may lead to increased likelihood of bone fractures in adults, and tooth enamel pits in young children. Lead consumption leads to physical and mental development in children and mercury consumption leads to kidney damage. (Birmingham Water Works).
I am sitting here completely dumb founded as I think about chemistry. How does chemistry relate to me? How do I relate chemistry? It is such a subject that I am unsure of how it fits into my life other than a class I took in high school. As I dig deeper instead of just scratching the surface, I realize that I use and will be going to use chemistry more and more in my life.
Our group decided on the science understanding of chemical science as our theme through strong influence from the Victorian Curriculum, as we adapted our unit of work to focus on the ‘Three States of Matter’ that centred around looking specifically at solids, liquids and gases in detail. We thought that this unit topic would be a fun and interesting to plan and create a sequence of six lessons with student-centred and hands-on activities throughout. I felt our presentation went informative in the sense of highlighting and addressing all our Victorian Curriculum components, although instead of just reading out all the content descriptors it would have been more beneficial to just focus and pinpoint how it relates, and how it was incorporated
The decisions that Gina McCarthy, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, makes have a direct impact on the health of the nation. Gina and her agency ensure the safety and cleanliness of the environment through standard setting, monitoring levels of chemicals and pollutants, and making sure these standards are enforced throughout all levels of industry. One group of industrial chemicals that have been receiving attention recently are the environmental endocrine disrupters (EED), such as DDT and Bispehnol A, that can be found in a wide range of products that Americans use in their everyday life. From household cleaners, food and beverage containers, beauty products, and even children’s toys, these chemicals are widely
Following the industrial revolution, societies across the world began to notice strange effects on individuals throughout certain local communities. Though toxicology was a relatively new and rudimentary practice at the time, scientists were able to trace these effects back to chemicals being exposed to industrial workers, their families, and nearby neighborhoods. Unfortunately, industry in the United States continued to expand with little regard for the effects on human health. As a result from this expansion the amount of chemicals released into the atmosphere skyrocketed continuously all the way to present day society. However, as industry expanded so did scientific technology, the understanding of chemicals, their exposure
Doctors are always telling us to drink more water to improve our health, but what if that water is contaminated by a potentially toxic chemical? When it comes to our drinking water in America, compared to other countries around the world, there is usually no concern in becoming ill after consuming a nice, big glass of tap water. The reason you don’t question the quality is because of the regulations in place by US Environmental protection Agency (EPA) for public drinking water. But now we are foreseeing issues with our drinking water due to chemicals used in items such as food packaging materials (such as pizza boxes and popcorn bags), fabrics, nonstick cooking pans and firefighting foams (Scutti). As a result of their inhabitance, the chemicals
Many scientific researchers have said that our environment has been filled with toxic chemicals, which us humans have had a part of. There are many different issues that should concern us surrounding these toxic chemicals. The major concern is that many of these toxic chemicals have been claimed to be causing damage to the health of humans and even other life forms. Another concern is that most of the theses toxic chemicals have just recently been produced; and by our environment changing everyday there is no telling what effects these toxic chemicals may have in the long run on the public 's health. Just about all of these toxic chemicals exist in the way they do because of humans. As humans we practice a lot of different activities that cause toxic chemicals to pollute our environment such as, agriculture, industrial, and many domestic activities as well. Many of the toxic chemicals that we produce and use don 't get used in a effective way, which causes them to be wasted, left abandoned, and disposed of. When toxic chemicals are not disposed of properly they effect the environment and the public 's health in a negative way.
Carson lets us know that people are a victim to daily chemical poisoning in even minute doses. She goes into the very details of domestic appliances and necessities. Carson talks about many things that don 't seem to be much of a danger on a daily basis to a regular person. Things such as bug sprays, lotions, paints and varnishes, and even a pocket-sized insecticide dispenser are brought up to help demonstrate the everyday risks we encounter.