CHEM2211W25

  The Truth About Nitrates: Fertilizers, Food, and a Hidden Danger Nitrates (NO3-) are omnipresent; they are anywhere you look, be it your food, the chemicals you feed your soil with, or the crackers and sparklers you enjoy. So, are they beneficial, harmful, or a bit of both? Let's take a close look at nitrates and learn what they are! What Are Nitrates? Nitrates are the compounds that contain oxygen and nitrogen. Their favorite growth nutrients are plants. For this reason, farmers use a kind of fertilizer that contains nitrates in the soil to enhance their yields. Nitrates are not only soil and fertilizers, their function is also in processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs, where they stop bacteria from reproducing while keeping the meat fresh-looking. Some of the leafy green vegetables, for instance, spinach and lettuce, on the other hand, are also natural sources of nitrates! Are Nitrates Dangerous? Nitrates alone are not harmful, but they become nitrites in the human body and...

  " taro shiba & old spice 2 " by _tar0_ is licensed under CC BY 2.0 . The other day in my room I was looking around and I saw my deodorant (old spice to be specific) and I wondered what was in my deodorant. What I found was Dipropylene Glycol also known as DPG. In my blog I will tell you about the information I have found about DPG. The chemical structure of DPG is made of 6 Carbons, 14 Hydrogens, and 3 Oxygens and it can be written as C 6 H 14 O 6 . DPG’s toxicity is very low which is proven by the high LD50 to rats, this means that scientists have experimented on rats to test the toxicity of DPG. Which tells us humans that DPG is a very safe and non toxic chemical to us due to the high value the scientist found. DPG is created by a process called PO hydration, which is a method where they take Propylene Oxide and add Water to it to make it Propylene Glycol once they have this they add more Propylene Oxide to create DPG and if they want Tripropylene Glycol they would...

(Chemical Safety Facts., 2022) What is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate? Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is a surfactant. Surfactant is a fancy word for a chemical that helps wash dirt and oils away. There are many different types of surfactants, but what sets sodium Lauryl Sulphate apart is the fact that it is quite foamy. Some things that Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is used in include but are not limited to: Soaps, cleaning products, fruit punches and toothpastes. (Chemical Safety Facts., 2022) Is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate Dangerous? Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is “designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food.” Further, it is rated a 1 on EWG’s skin-deep scale. (EWG Skin Deep., n.d.) This means no sufficient evidence concludes that it is dangerous for what it is generally used in. With that being said, two things are also true. First, the “The toxicological properties have not been fully investigated.” (Fisher Scientific Company., 2023) That means that there might be some unknown effects of this...

From [Spiral glazed ham] [Photograph], by joefoodie, 2010, Wikimedia Commons ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spiral_glazed_ham.jpg ). CC BY 2.0. Look at this picture of ham. Unless you are a vegan or vegetarian, doesn't this ham look delicious? In a few moments I'm going to ruin your appetite, since cured and processed meat such as ham has likely involved a chemical commonly known as sodium nitrite.  You're probably wondering what sodium nitrite is. In this blog, I will describe sodium nitrite, list its uses, and controversies surrounding this chemical. As the title of this blog post suggests, sodium nitrite has been used positively and negatively. What is sodium nitrite? Sodium nitrate is a substance that is usually created by reducing either sodium nitrate or nitrogen oxides (Pokorny et al., 2006, pp 8-9). When sodium nitrate is in solid form, it looks similar to salt with a yellowish-white colour and a crystal form. It dissolves easily in water and creates a m...

Yes, this chemical does have a very scary and dangerous looking name but... is it really that bad? Figure 1 Japanese Hair Dye 1. What is it? Ammonium Hydroxide is a chemical that is used in many different products and processes! (more about those later).  It is made by dissolving ammonia gas in water (2). Ammonia itself is a naturally occurring chemical which is found both in nature, through the nitrogen cycle, and in our bodies, in urine.  2. What is it used in? Ammonium hydroxide is used in so many things that I don't even have room to list them all.  A list of some things that ammonium hydroxide is Note.  From  Japanese Hair Dye  [Photograph], by     used /as: hair dye (3), food preserver, pH adjuster,   J. Gillespie, 2012, Flickr ( https://openverse.org/        inks, fertilizers, production of plastic, image/e485f0a7-c60d-404b-a958-85f4fc151962?      photography development, and many more ...

Aspirin: Looking at the Science Behind Pain Relief Imagine this: You get out of bed and feel a headache, you pop a pill, and the pain slowly fades away, for a temporary time. That pill can be Aspirin! But not many people know how it actually works; let's get into that! Aspirin: What Is It? Aspirin’s chemical formula is (C₉H₈O₄) and it’s also known as acetylsalicylic acid. It’s commonly used for anti-inflammatory purposes, pain, and fever. It’s been around for roughly a century, but its origins go all the way to ancient civilizations which used willow bark. The willow bark contains salicin which is one of the main compounds leading to the creation of Aspirin. How It Works So everyone has special enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) that help create prostaglandins; which is responsible for inflammation and pain. Aspirin literally blocks that, reducing those feelings. It’s a temporary solution though, not a cure. It also helps with stopping blood clots, so some people low-dose it to lower their ...