M9.2 Blog: Six Chemical Classes

Discuss each of the 6 half-hour webinars in a single blog post, separating the post by inserting each webinar's title before discussing that webinar.
Highly Fluorinated-
These products provide stain and water repellency. These man made products are very dangerous to our health and often stay around for much longer than needed. These chemicals are found in 98% of people in our world. High and continuous exposure to these chemicals can lead to different kinds of cancers and affect the ways in which vaccines protect our children.

Antimicrobials
A class of chemicals that are supposed to stunt or kill microorganisms. These chemicals are often included in soaps, clothing, fitness maps, food storage containers, etc. Continued exposure to antimicrobials can result in decreased immune system and decreased functioning. While the use of antimicrobials might seem helpful these chemicals are rather dangerous and hurtful.

Flame Retardants
Flame retardants are supposed to slow or stop fires and are found in consumer and building materials. While made to slow or stop fires often consumer products sealed with flame retardant burn just as quickly and in turn give off a lot more toxic gas than the non-flam retardant counterpart.

Bisphenols + Phthalates
These chemicals can disrupt hormones and basic function in humans and animal. These chemicals can be consumed by humans through water and can even be transferred through touch. Bisphenols are used for structure, they help make things stronger. While Phthalates are used to make products more flexible.

Some solvents
Solvents are a diverse class of chemicals used to dissolve or disperse chemicals. Some are toxic and should be avoided but they can be absorbed through the air or through touch. Many products like garment dry cleaning and nail polish remover are examples of solvents that evaporate into the air.

Certain Metals
Metals can be excellent conductors but can be linked to health harm. Examples of metals are mercury, lead and cadmium. Exposure to mercury in the womb can lead to brain and developmental problems.

Comments

  1. Chris DeatrasOctober 29, 2018 at 5:53 PM

    One aspect of these 6 chemical classes that I found was that children are at the highest risk for adverse health effects. Given that they are still developing, it's disheartening that not a lot is being done policy-wise to address these issues. Children need a good and healthy environment to develop properly and do well across all aspects of life. Hopefully, the pace for children-focused policies picks up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 19, 2018 at 6:15 PM

    I really enjoyed watching these webinars. I definitely feel like I learned a lot. It's so sad to realize that most of these chemicals can affect children.

    ReplyDelete

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