Are Black Plastic Spatulas and Serving Spoons Safe to Use?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:28:36 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

There is probably no quote more often cited in discussions of toxicity than that of 16th-century Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus, namely that “only the dose makes the poison.”

The Dark Side of Black Plastics

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:17:21 +0000

I’m sitting here looking around my office for anything made of black plastic. The casing of my computer is in that category, so is my coffee machine, my printer, my cell phone stand, my stapler, a bunch of pens that clutter my desk, my electronic car key, an electric heater, a flower pot, the carbon atoms in my molecular models, the armrest on my chair and a garbage can as well as the garbage bag inside it. Even some of the ducks that adorn my shelves are made of black plastic! No, I am not bored or mentally disturbed.