/oss/taxonomy/term/2172/all en /oss/article/general-science/phthalate-fears <p>I don’t think Einstein had chemical anxiety or the amount of chemicals in our urine in mind when he famously stated that “not everything that counts can be measured and not everything that can be measured counts.” But I think the quote has great relevance when it comes to current chemical concerns. Scarcely a day goes by without some activist organization clamoring about the number of “untested” chemicals to which we are exposed, and lamenting the “fact” that we have become a nation of “unwitting guinea pigs.” True, we are exposed to chemicals, hundreds of thousands every day.</p> Tue, 22 Mar 2022 18:42:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9060 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health/toxic-chemicals-environment <p>Virtually no day goes by without an alert from the media about some chemical in the environment that is suspected of harming our health. It may do this by disrupting our hormones, triggering cancer, causing heart disease, affecting brain development, or any combination of these. Among numerous other substances it might be oxybenzone in sunscreens, tetrachloroethylene residue in dry cleaned clothes, caramel colouring in cola drinks, arsenic in rice or phthalates in plastics.</p> Sat, 16 Jul 2016 01:42:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2347 at /oss