Questions tagged [toxicity]
Questions on the harmful effects of various substances on the human body, or biological organisms in general.
208
questions
75
votes
5
answers
22k
views
How do people know HCN smells like almonds?
I was told by my chemistry teacher that $\ce{HCN}$ smells like almonds. She then went on to tell a story about how some of her students tried to play a prank on her by pouring almond extract down the ...
- 847
54
votes
6
answers
86k
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 ...
- 6,714
34
votes
2
answers
213k
views
How do I extract cyanide from apple seeds?
I'm working on a crime story about cyanide poisoning from apple seeds. I just would like to have an idea of what processes and extraction techniques might be involved in getting cyanide from the seeds....
- 569
33
votes
4
answers
14k
views
Why is methanol toxic?
There are two points of view for the answer of this question:
The biological view, the only one that I faced during my research, states that since it can trigger perilous conditions like metabolic ...
- 10.7k
32
votes
4
answers
8k
views
How are poisons discovered? Does someone have to die/be poisoned from it first?
How are poisons discovered? Does someone have to die/be poisoned from it first?
Or are there other ways of discovering the harmfulness of a substance? Perhaps everything is tested on other animals ...
- 665
24
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How toxic chemically is plutonium (Pu), neglecting the radioactive damage?
In Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb, he says that, while Pu is not that radioactive (which is surprising -- maybe he means compared with radium and some other elements), it is very toxic.
I would ...
- 471
23
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Why is the cyanide ion toxic?
As the title implies, what is the molecular basis of cyanide toxicity? I did some searching around at the CDC and it only states that it prevents cells from using oxygen. I also read how it could take ...
- 357
20
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Does benzene's resonance structure allow it to enter DNA?
According to this link, benzene is able to insert itself into the human DNA. It isn't an authoritative source and appears to be quite biased, so I'm wondering if there's any truth to this.
The ...
- 343
20
votes
2
answers
30k
views
Toxicity of a sheet of lead?
I just went camping and someone brought a game from Australia. There was a wooden box with the top made of a thin, soft sheet of lead with a hole in it. The participants then throw coins at the box, ...
- 377
19
votes
1
answer
10k
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 ...
- 472
18
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Why is potassium ferrocyanide considered safe for consumption, when it is just one reaction away from the highly toxic potassium cyanide?
According to this answer, heating potassium ferrocyanide will decompose it into potassium cyanide.
Now, potassium ferrocyanide is an approved anti-caking agent, and hence used in table salt, for ...
- 305
16
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Is Fluorine more toxic than Chlorine?
Fluorine is more reactive than Chlorine. But does it mean that Fluorine can cause more damage to living tissues? If so, why wasn't Fluorine used in WW1 instead of Chlorine?
- 295
16
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Mercury metal: Not toxic?
Now I (and most of us here, I guess) have grown up around "Mercury's toxic! Avoid handling it! Do NOT screw around with this thing, if you value your life" and other equally heartening pieces of ...
- 18.8k
16
votes
3
answers
14k
views
What is the effect on humans of using dry ice and liquid nitrogen as food additives?
I have seen on a TV show that some guy uses dry ice (solid $\ce{CO2}$) to make ice cream and on an another TV show, liquid nitrogen ($\ce{N2}$) is used with tequila. Both are edible.
I know that ...
- 2,768
15
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Can osmium react with oxygen at room temperature?
I’m an avid collector of elements (I love shiny rocks - don’t judge).
I’m looking to buy some osmium, as it’s one of the heaviest and hardest metals out there.
However, people online told me to avoid ...
- 317
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Toxicity of metallic lead (Pb)
I have some pieces of lead ($\ce{Pb}$) at home. I keep them in a box in the closet and never touch them.
Can it be harmful?
Should I throw them away?
I would like to keep them, but I am not ...
- 161
15
votes
4
answers
32k
views
Are modern newspaper inks a health risk?
It's very common in India to see newspapers being used to absorb oils from oily snacks, or simply for temporary food packaging. Some articles say that covering food items in newspaper is a health risk....
- 247
15
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Receiving milk for working in harmful environment
I just got a job in a chemical/biological lab (post-Soviet Country). Chemists here receive milk for "harmfulness of the work" (i .e. their work involves working with all kind of substances/reactives). ...
- 151
14
votes
8
answers
6k
views
Are there any good examples of commonly ingested molecules that contain particular toxic individual elements?
In the house on my own and an article popped up on my feed with the following statement:
While the Government has insisted the chemical is safe, cadmium is
recognised as a cause of lung cancer ...
- 251
14
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Can drinking a lot of water be fatal?
I vaguely recall having heard that drinking too much water can, over time, prove fatal to the human body.
Nothing special about the water; not distilled or de-ionized or anything … just plain ol' ...
- 18.8k
14
votes
3
answers
31k
views
Is poison still poisonous after its 'expiration date'?
As we all know that,
Any poison is nothing but a chemical compound.
And as discussed in the question: Chemicals-do-have-an-expiry-date!
So, my question is: Is poison still poisonous after its '...
- 350
13
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Chilling water in copper vessel
Does chilling drinking water in copper bottle result in any chemical reaction that turns it dangerous for consumption in any way?
Few days back, in summer, I carried kokum juice in copper bottle. I ...
- 239
13
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Any substance too poisonous to measure an LD50?
A recent question on poisons was answered in part by bringing up the concept of $\pu{LD_{50}}$ and animal testing and so on; none of that was new to me, but it did bring to mind a question I don’t ...
- 357
12
votes
3
answers
24k
views
Do hard drive platters contain toxic chemicals?
So, I'm considering an Artsy Fartsy project with hard drive platters. Being mildly aware of the world around me, I've come to the conclusion that I probably shouldn't grind up modern (or any) ...
- 365
12
votes
3
answers
51k
views
Does milk drinking prevent long-term chemical poisoning?
I have heard some rumors that drinking milk prevents chemical poisoning. I have done a bit research and some sources confirm that.
Corrosive Poisons
The best first aid is to dilute the poison as ...
- 2,205
12
votes
1
answer
251
views
Is Acrylamide carcinogenic? Why?
Recently concerned with health effects by common chemicals existent in food I've been rather busy reading article after article; and just an interesting one came around:
Acrylamide (or acrylic ...
- 10.7k
11
votes
2
answers
25k
views
Is palladium really that poisonous?
In Iron man 2, the protagonist Tony Stark was anxious about his blood toxicity due to palladium core that was keeping him alive was slowly poisoning his blood. It is written here that:
The ...
- 26.5k
11
votes
2
answers
28k
views
At what amount is digesting soap unhealthy?
Several of my friends, when they do the dishes manually, do not rinse the dishes after cleaning but merely dip them in the dishwater and then dry them (using a towel or a dish rack). I myself on the ...
- 10.9k
11
votes
1
answer
475
views
How long burned tobacco/cigarette smoke remain toxic?
It's hard to evaluate Environmental Tobacco Smoke lifecycle, it can certainly react, be absorbed by organisms, or be diluted in rain, and be emitted again from the ground.
But in the end, I'm ...
- 123
10
votes
4
answers
8k
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 ...
- 461
10
votes
1
answer
11k
views
Is 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.
...
- 393
10
votes
2
answers
617
views
Why is mercury much more toxic when inhaled than injected?
Following wikipedia:
Cases of systemic toxicity from accidental swallowing are rare, and attempted suicide via intravenous injection does not appear to result in systemic toxicity,[1] though it is ...
- 191
10
votes
1
answer
187
views
Are the tars in cannabis considerably more dangerous than those in tobacco?
The claim that "the tars in cannabis are considerably more dangerous than those in tobacco" is made in Patricks An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry (4th edition, p. 169). It's just a simple one ...
- 6,243
10
votes
2
answers
16k
views
Is the Hollywood portrayal of the effects of ingesting HCN correct?
In the 2012 movie Skyfall, the antagonist Raoul Silva rues that the "hydrogen cyanide" he took ("Do you know what it does to you, hydrogen cyanide?") didn't kill him, leaving him horribly disfigured ...
- 18.8k
10
votes
1
answer
751
views
Why does ethanol have a health rating of [2] in NFPA 704 whereas methanol, which is far more toxic, has a rating of only [1]?
Why Ethanol has the blue health hazard rating of 2 in NFPA 704 where as both Acetone and Methanol which are far more toxic than Ethanol have a rating of only 1? (Click on each link to see the NFPA ...
- 201
9
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How much ozone is produced by ionization of air and how turn ozone into oxygen
I want to make a plasma speaker. I'm worried about the amount of ozone being produced by the ionization of the air and it possibly not being a safe amount. Even if it doesn't produce a dangerous ...
- 217
9
votes
1
answer
158
views
What's wrong with using tin in medicinal chemistry?
I just read this In the Pipeline post and I was slightly confused by a statement on the use of tin. Lowe reports on this paper, which describes a synthetic route to spiro heterocycles using tin ...
- 493
9
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Is bamboo based plastic less likely to leak chemicals?
Some plastics have been known to leak plasticizers (bisphenol and phthalates) into the food they contain, especially when heated.
Because such compounds are suspected of being endocrine disruptors it ...
- 249
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Are risks (hexavalent chromium) during Chrome plating temporary, or remain with the product?
Since some chrome plating production processes generate hexavalent_chromium compounds, which are reportedly highly toxic/carcinogenic, I wonder:
Do the hexavalent chromium substances only occur (...
- 183
8
votes
2
answers
278
views
Would standing next to a pool of mercury do you any harm?
I was watching this clip from the 2017 film The Mummy in which the characters stand next to a pool of mercury which was being used as part of an elaborate prison.
Several comments under this video ...
- 911
8
votes
1
answer
513
views
Is Sweetwater, Missouri, named due to water contamination with lead compounds?
The town of Sweetwater, Missouri is known for its mineral resources, particularly rich lead sulfide (galena) deposits. I am curious to find the origin of the name "Sweetwater" and if it has any ...
- 2,783
8
votes
1
answer
20k
views
Does melting HDPE plastic produce toxic fumes? (melting, not burning)
● The question isn't about burning HDPE but melting it at the proper temperature. (At 120 to 180°C depending on it's density, it becomes gooey. According to the source below the "extrusion" ...
- 439
8
votes
1
answer
476
views
I (might) have accidentally combined these mold-killers at home: Any adverse reactions?
A trailer is a small enclosed space. About 2 months ago we had some mold and I applied some mold killer to a few spots that I could not remediate. Below I've listed 2 products I used. (I definitely ...
- 99
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What makes formaldehyde 'safe' or 'dangerous'?
I know that formaldehyde naturally occurs as a metabolite and can be found in our own and other animals' bodies, plants, and unprocessed food.
But formaldehyde is also registered as a carcinogenic ...
- 71
7
votes
1
answer
677
views
Cyanide from seeds breaking down in a pond
I have a large loquat tree that overhangs a pond. The loquat seeds apparently contain cyanide of some sort, so I'm trying to find the effect the seeds have when they fall in the pond.
Over time I ...
- 171
7
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Liquifying metal and toxic fume exposure
I just read a very entertaining Youtube comment thread on a video where TheBackyardScientist melts tin on the stove in his (enclosed) kitchen, the proceeds to cook a steak on it.
According to the ...
- 173
7
votes
1
answer
23k
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 ...
7
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Taste same but why not LiCl a substitute for NaCl (common salt)?
A clinical paper from 1949 [1] observes the toxicity of LiCl, at very low concentrations. That just went over my head... Is toxicity the only reason to avoid LiCl as a substitute for NaCl (specially ...
- 1,954
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Dangers of corroded mercury battery
Disclaimer: Sorry if this is not a pure chemistry question. If it's better suited to another SE, I'm happy to have it migrated there.
I'm in the process of cleaning my father's workshop, and recently ...
- 179
7
votes
2
answers
789
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 ...
- 241