are all chemicals harmful
Most of OSHA’s PELs for Shipyard Employment are contained in 1915.1000 – Toxic and Hazardous Substances, and are listed by chemical name. Most of OSHA’s PELs for Construction are contained in 1926.55 – Gases, Vapors, Fumes, Dusts, and Mists, and are listed by chemical name. However, many of these limits are outdated. To put it another way, all chemicals can be toxic. It is the amount or dose taken into the body that determines whether or not they will cause poisonous effects. Poisoning, then, is caused not just by exposure to a particular chemical, but by exposure to too much of it. What is a chemical? Everything in the physical world around us is made of chemicals. The earth we walk on, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the cars we drive, and the houses we live in are all made of various chemicals. Living organisms such as plants, animals, and humans are also made of chemicals. All over the world, there are over 100,000 synthetic chemicals, with around 1700 being added every year. The problem is that many of them are being released into products, and into the environment, and also into the human body, without sufficient testing or review or restrictions. Therein lies the problem. Synthetic chemicals in our food appear in the form of preservatives, flavourings and colourings. Chemicals are routinely used in plastics, fabrics, furniture, electronics and household products such as cleaning solutions, detergents, polishes as well as personal care products like cosmetics, shampoos, soaps. While not all hazards associated with every chemical and toxic substance are addressed here, we do provide relevant links to other pages with additional information about hazards and methods to control exposure in the workplace. Various types of Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) have been established by a number of organizations, and are listed on many of OSHA’s Safety and Health webpages on chemical hazards and toxic substances. Chemical hazards and toxic substances pose a wide range of health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity). Toxicity is a measure of the poisoning strength of a chemical. Chemicals that are only weakly toxic require large doses to cause poisoning. Strongly toxic chemicals only need small doses to cause poisoning. So we don’t need to balk at the word “chemicals” as though it’s a dirty word. Chemicals exist in Nature as much as they do in laboratories, so we need to know what we are talking about. If there is an underlying assumption that Chemicals = bad and Natural = good, then I would like to put that in context. There is definitely a rising awareness about the dangers of toxic synthetic chemicals, the ones which are created in the laboratory from artificial or natural sources.
No,Synthetic chemicals in our food appear in the form of preservatives, flavourings and colourings.