Questions on the harmful effects of various substances on the human body, or biological organisms in general.
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Why are the halogens good disinfectants?
I've been searching around the internet for a while and I know that Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine are used as disinfectants.
My question is, what is the property of the halogens that make them ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Chemically Speaking, What's Bad About Inhaling Plastics?
I hear about things like dioxin, but I really don't see what's dangerous about plastics-shouldn't you be ble to just breathe it out, or pass it out of your system? How would it cause cancer?
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Aflatoxin versus Benzene, permissible levels
Alfatoxin and benzene are carconogenic, and this is the major concern for low, chronic doses. They are regulated to the few parts per billion level in food. However, according to ...
6
votes
1answer
232 views
Is there any substance that's a 4-4-4 on the NFPA diamond?
A lot of the organometallics are rather... interesting compounds to work with. The most famous (among those who care, anyway) is tert-butyllithium or t-BuLi. It is the textbook example of a pyrophoric ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
Can silica gel beads cause silicosis if crushed?
Can silica gel beads (which I believe are amorphous) when crushed to dust cause silicosis?
0
votes
1answer
63 views
NaClO effect on eyes at various dilutions? [closed]
Are there any studies on the cytotoxity and resulting injury of sodium hypochlorite diluted to 1%, 0.5% and 0.25% (or about those values) contacting human eyes? Basically, how damaging is sodium ...
3
votes
2answers
201 views
Cyanogenic glycosides and HCN
I'm researching cyanide for a biology project and noted that one of the largest sources of carbohydrates in the tropics is the cassava root -- which I previously researched as a food that contains a ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Adulteration of turmeric with Metanil yellow
I read in the local paper that common food products like turmeric can be adulterated. It continued to specify the adulterant which they called metanil yellow. On searching on the Net, I was able to ...
2
votes
3answers
236 views
Calcium carbonate toxicity
I can't make heads or tails of the information on the net — although there seems to be plenty of it, it seems contradictory.
Supposedly, calcium carbonate is used in antacids—yet there are warnings ...
1
vote
0answers
112 views
Bleach and toilet cleaner dilution safety [closed]
I am not very experienced with chemistry, so some of this may be incorrect or silly.
I've heard bleach and toilet cleaner are caustic and therefore probably would damage eyes. I'm wondering what ...
-2
votes
1answer
236 views
Is the smell coming out from a portable dehumidifier safe?
A portable dehumidifier requires the consumer to plug it into an outlet to regenerate its crystal. When the crystal is thus "regenerated", the indicator will change from pink color to its original ...
3
votes
1answer
566 views
Blue Silica Gel more harmful than the orange ones?
I am currently searching for a portable dehumidifier but notice that most of them come with a indicator that actually using the Blue Silica Gel, which I believe that it may contain Cobalt Chloride.
...
4
votes
1answer
170 views
Mercury, amalgams and mercury compounds [closed]
Mercury is toxic. It forms amalgams and inorganic mercury compounds/salts are available.
My question is on toxicity. I am interested in its toxicity, not the mode of action (as it will be part of ...
