Re: The Nightmare After RoHS: REACH
God, don't get me started on the fear-mongering that goes on in the public. I am a inorganic/environmental chemist in training (graduate student). Anytime you call a chemical by its real name people get scared. It seems people have been trained to fear any words that end in -ium, -ide, -ate, etc. For example, judge your reaction if I told you about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. Let that sink in, and you can see what I mean. Now don't get me wrong, there are some truly toxic compounds out there, such as SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride), a gaseous insulator in power transformers, which destroys the ozone and has 1300x better IR reflectivity than CO2. Likewise there are other compounds that need to be carefully watched, like PCBs and the related Polychlorophenols(PCPs). Compounds that contain "soft" metals like Pb, Cd, etc. are quite hazardous. Side note when I say soft I mean a particular type of metal that reacts and behaves a certain way, not that they are actually SOFT, though many are. The fact of the matter is, I believe that we will reach a point where we realize that ALL compounds are hazardous in large amounts. It is just a matter of time before the government tries to regulate everything.
God, don't get me started on the fear-mongering that goes on in the public. I am a inorganic/environmental chemist in training (graduate student). Anytime you call a chemical by its real name people get scared. It seems people have been trained to fear any words that end in -ium, -ide, -ate, etc. For example, judge your reaction if I told you about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. Let that sink in, and you can see what I mean. Now don't get me wrong, there are some truly toxic compounds out there, such as SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride), a gaseous insulator in power transformers, which destroys the ozone and has 1300x better IR reflectivity than CO2. Likewise there are other compounds that need to be carefully watched, like PCBs and the related Polychlorophenols(PCPs). Compounds that contain "soft" metals like Pb, Cd, etc. are quite hazardous. Side note when I say soft I mean a particular type of metal that reacts and behaves a certain way, not that they are actually SOFT, though many are. The fact of the matter is, I believe that we will reach a point where we realize that ALL compounds are hazardous in large amounts. It is just a matter of time before the government tries to regulate everything.
) which contain lead - why would a contract to an overseas manufacturer did not specify the materials to be used?
halogens are the elements in the second to last column of the periodic table (Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine). These compounds while in pure form are highly reactive and poisonous, when found in salts and other compounds are harmless, such as iodized table salt (which contains a mixture of NaCl, KCl and KI). Freon-12 is DichloroDifluoromethane (CCl2F2). The reason that it is such a problem is that the chlorines stabilze the molecule preventing its break up in the lower atmosphere, instead allowing it to reach the stratosphere where finally high energy UV radiation tears it apart. Freeing the highly reactive F- anions. These are what tear apart the ozone. The ban on freon worked because all of the new compounds are either Hydrofluorocarbons or Fluorocarbons. No chlorine in the molecule to stabalize it and hte compound is degraded low in the atmosphere where it can't do any harm to the ozone layer. Also as an aside BromoFluorocarbons are just as bad, these were used commonly in airplane and on naval ships as fire supressents.
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<----Computer says I need more beer.
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