Member Article

Six Most Common Chemical Misconceptions Highlighted In New Report

The six most common science misconceptions have been highlighted by scientists keen to keep the public informed about the realities of chemicals. The misconceptions, highlighted in the report ‘Making Sense of Chemical Stories’, are: 1. ‘You can lead a chemical-free life’ - Claims that products are “chemical free” are untrue.

There are no alternatives to chemicals, just choices about which chemicals to use and how they are made. 2. ‘Man-made chemicals are inherently dangerous’ - The chemical reality is that whether a substance is manufactured by people, copied from nature, or extracted directly from nature, tells us nothing much at all about its properties. 3. ‘Synthetic chemicals are causing many cancers and other diseases’ - The chemical reality is that many of the claims about chemicals being ‘linked’ to diseases simply tell us that a chemical was present when an effect occurred, rather than showing that the chemical causes the effect. 4. ‘Our exposure to a cocktail of chemicals is a ticking time-bomb’ - The chemical reality is that, although the language of “cocktails” and “time bombs” is alarming, neither the presence of chemicals nor the bioaccumulation of them, in themselves, mean that harm is being done. 5. ‘It is beneficial to avoid man-made chemicals’ - The chemical reality is that, insofar as there is a ‘need’ for anything, synthesized and man-made chemicals have given societies choices beyond measure about what they are exposed to and the problems they can solve. 6. ‘We are subjects in an unregulated, uncontrolled experiment’ - The chemical reality is that there is an extensive regulatory system that strictly controls what chemicals can be introduced: what experiments can take place, what can be used, for which purpose and how they should be transported, used and disposed of. The report was produced by Sense About Science, an independent charitable trust that works to promote evidence and good science in public debates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .