Chemistry is an integral part of our lives
and surroundings, the knowledge and application of it has contributed in
shaping our society and civilization. In this article, the approach is to
investigate the effects or impacts of knowledge in the field of chemistry on
various aspects of the society.
One of the most significant changes
contributed by the understanding of long-terms effect created by the
inappropriate disposal of domestic chemical wastes is the shift of chemical
production lines predominantly by modifying the conventional process to produce
a more environmental-friendly product. Based on the traditional scope of
chemical’s life process constructed by Chemistry Department of UMICH, the life
of chemical is broken down into three segments, raw chemical acquisition,
production and processing, and product utilization. The fate of product (in
this case, chemical) after its disposal was not normally taken into
consideration by manufacturer. Such ignorance has certainly created complex
problems with large scale impact on the environment and ecosystem while
providing simple solutions to satisfy immediate societal demands. Take the case
of plastic for example, while enhancing the packaging of industry; the disposal
of this chemical product has resulted in many environmental problems
threatening the society. In Plastic
Waste Management Awareness Creation and Public Education program launched by
Ministry of Environment Science and Technology (MEST), the ministry declared an
astounding statistic that seventy percent of plastic disposed in Ghana ended up
in drainage system and other open spaces, and since plastic is
non-biodegradable, it forms permanent clog in the sealed underground drain,
which is a major cause for flooding. Also, the lack of effort in treating
plastic waste is demonstrated when Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced that only seven percent of plastic waste in the world is recycled.
After studying the long terms effect created by domestic chemicals and taking
considerations on the impact of these products on multiple aspects especially
environment and resources scarcity, the ideas of “treatment disposal” and
“retirement and recovery” are incorporated into the products life cycle and
subsequently causing a shift in production lines of various products
particularly the domestic chemicals. This is to mitigate the negative
environment impact of chemicals after its disposal. Back to the case of
plastic, in the past twenty to thirty years, plastic-making industry has
diverted its conventional productions line for plastic. One of the most common
examples is to insert carbohydrate or sugar molecule in plastic to make its
products more bio-degradable etc. in order to reduce its environmental impacts.
Problem such as clogging of underground piping system caused by the improper
disposal of plastic waste can be then significantly reduced for these new
plastics can be decomposed more easily and thus would not result in the
formation of permanent clogs. The case-study regarding plastic is just one of
the many examples of how the knowledge on effects of chemicals have contributed
in modifying the production lines of domestic chemicals from manufacturing
perspective, and with the growing understanding and studies regarding the
long-term effect of domestic chemicals, there will be even more modification
and diversion in the process of synthesizing domestic chemicals in the future.
The widespread knowledge regarding chemicals
and its impact changes not only the industry but also the consumers’ preference
over the choices of domestic chemicals. Chemicals’ database sharing network
like PublisherChem, ChemSpider, and even the FDA agency have provided a
tremendous amount of information regarding the effects, usages etc. of many
domestic chemicals online. With the growing competition in food industries,
addition of preservatives, coloring, flavoring to the food products has become
a preference for most of the manufacturer in order to improve the taste,
appearance and prolong the expiry date of their products. In recent years,
there are discoveries that show certain unpleasant side effect caused by food
additives. Tartrazine (Sunset Yellow E110) for example, has proven to be one of
the factors that cause hyperactivity in children, and sodium benzoate (E211) is
known to be a potential carcinogenic compound after reacting with other
chemicals found in human body, after the discovery, Coca-Cola announced that it
would be phasing out sodium benzoate from many of its drinks in year 2008. Also
in Malaysia, acts such as 1983 Food Act, 1985 Food Regulation are signed to
control the quantity of additives permitted in food. With the development of
chemical database sharing network, food act etc. over the decades, it is not
uncommon to see a general public preference shift from food with flamboyant
color, heavy taste to food with natural flavoring, and quote like “stop adding
E numbers to my food” begin to emerge in the community. Everyone is going for a
better or arguably more natural type of food. Unfortunately, the shift of
preference is only true in the relative affluent and middle-income society, for
they have a wider range of choices over the food, and the people who live in
poverty will still continue to consume food with high concentration of these
unhealthy artificial food additives because the latter can be synthesized relatively
easily by laboratory in large quantity, thus it can be sold at low price.
Buildings have become more than just a compartment
for people to stay, but a landmark that represents the culture of a particular
place. Advancement in material chemistry particularly in the research and
synthesis of polymers has given rise to many buildings with intricate
architecture. Such novel material has been found to have many advantages over
its conventional alternatives such as concrete (the nightmare of architecture)
and glass. Concrete is tough and able to withstand high tension, but it is
incapable of building complex structure, glass makes building looks elegant but
its advantage is simply outweighed by its fragility and large mass. Polymer is,
however, able to withstand high tension, light and can be molded into different
shapes. In recent years, polymer such as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE)
has become the crème de la crème of various well-known engineering firms like
ARUP. ETFE is used by ARUP to build many notable buildings across the globe
such as Beijing National Aquatic Center or affectionaly known to be the water
cube, Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany etc. The rapid progress in the
development of material chemistry is changing many conventional thoughts on how
a building should look like, and gives rise to the emergence of novel architecture,
design and most importantly, it provides a new way for people to express their
culture and heritage.
Chemistry in many ways is changing our
society, it is a part of our lives that we constantly take for granted, and
this ignorance has caused chemicals to be particularly vulnerable to the
misusage by irresponsible parties. We should at least from now, be sensitive to
the domestic chemicals around us, make efforts to understand the labels on
chemical products, and play our part to ensure that knowledge of chemistry is
only used for the benefits of mankind and the environment in synchrony with the
marketing slogan used by DuPont Chemical Company, “better things for better
livings…through chemistry”.
kuanzian leong
