Chemophobia literally means "fear of chemicals", but the term may be used in various ways. It is most often used to describe the unbased assumption that "chemicals" are bad and harmful, while "natural" things are good and healthy. General chemophobia derives from incomplete knowledge of science, or a misunderstanding of science, and is a form of technophobia and fear of the unknown.
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In terms of chemical safety, “industrial,” “synthetic,” “artificial,” and “man-made” do not necessarily mean damaging, and “natural” does not necessarily mean better.
——Sense About Science, Making Sense of Chemical Stories[1]
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Definition
The most usual use of the term "chemophobia" is analogous to "homophobia"—a prejudice against something rather than an irrational fear.
See nonclinical uses of "phobia" and prejudices described as phobias In this sense, chemophobia is akin to technophobia.
Other uses of the term
Some[2] define chemophobia as a full-blown psychological phobia—a "specific phobia"—but most mainstream sources such as the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology do not recognise chemophobia as a psychological condition. Websites that use the specific phobia definition (such as this) typically sell cures for a very wide range of specific phobias and seem to include "chemophobia" simply to enlarge the range of conditions they claim to treat. The National Institute of Health does not list chemophobia as a rare condition.[3]
Another definition of chemophobia is that it is a concern about learning chemistry as an academic subject.[4]
Characteristics
Research[5] shows that people are primarily afraid that "chemicals" will cause cancer and that they are reassured when they learn how rigorously pesticides are tested and the unfeasibly high levels of pesticides a human would need to accumulate before coming to harm.
Causes
According to Neil Eisberg, editor of Chemistry & Industry, chemophobia is a result from a public lack of trust - compounded by sections of the media and certain environmental groups - in the chemical industry after chemical disasters:
"[The chemical industry's] reputation with the general public, once extremely high, has fallen to an all-time low as a result of accidents such as Bhopal and Seveso and health scares fed by campaigns by environmental groups and encouraged by a sometimes gullible media. "But where does this lack of trust [between society and business] originate? According to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, ...the present situation originated in the 'fabulous fiction' of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, which portrayed chemistry as a blind and brutal enemy of birds and other living creatures."[6]
A contributory factor to chemophobia is due to increasing sensitivity of analytical techniques that can now detect extremely low levels of chemicals. Detected levels are usually so low as to be harmless, though media often only report the fact that the chemical has been detected in such-and-such a place and that it is harmful, but not at which levels the compound might cause harm nor the levels at which it was detected.
"Away from the high doses of occupational exposure, a whole host of unwanted chemicals finds their way into our bodies all the time, [but the] chemical baggage we carry is very small. It is only because of the great advances in analytical chemistry that we are able to detect it’s there at all." [7]
Fallacy
Those who may be described as chemophobic assume that all "chemicals" are at best untrustworthy, and at worst harmful. Those with a knowledge of chemistry, on the other hand, argue that this is an incorrect generalisation. Every substance encountered in daily life is in fact a chemical. "Chemicals" include benign, naturally-occurring substances such as air, water, and everything inside plants and animals, as well as naturally-occurring poisons and naturally radioactive elements.
Even if the term "chemical" were restricted to mean "man-made", it would still be incorrect to describe and/or assume all such substances as harmful. For example, any plant or animal substance transformed by cooking would then become a "chemical".
See also
- Dihydrogen monoxide hoax
- Biotechnology
- Genetics
- Natural Science
- Multiple chemical sensitivity, a medical syndrome that the patient blames on exposure to low levels of "chemicals"
- List of phobias
Notes
- ^ Making Sense of Chemical Stories by Sense About Science.
- ^ Includes NIH definition of chemophobia.
- ^ NIH listing of rare diseases.
- ^ Roberta M. Eddy (2000) Chemophobia in the College Classroom: Extent, Sources, and Student Characteristics. Journal of Chemical Education, v77 n4 p514-17 Apr 2000 [1]
- ^ University of Nebraska, Lincoln, article on chemophobia.
- ^ How industry must win back the public’s faith in chemicals (Joint SCI/CEFIC Global Chemicals Industry Convention) report by Neil Eisberg, Editor of Chemistry & Industry
- ^ Dr John Hoskins – Toxicologist, quoted in Science For Celebrities by Sense About Science
References
- Chemophobia-the irrational fear of chemicals by Dr. Robert E. LaPointe (Chemist)
- ChemoPhobia & EcoHysteria by Dr. Robert D. Athey Jr. (Chemist)
- Chemophobia cleans up. by Elizabeth Whelan, President of the American Council on Science and Health.
- An antidote to chemophobia. by James M. Taylor (Environment News, July 1, 2002) - Review of Dr. Alan Sweeney's book, Happy & Healthy in a Chemical World (1stBooks, 2001).
- Let's Put An End to "Chemophobia" (Commentary) by Ronald Breslow, The Scientist 22 March 1993, 7(6):12
- Causes Of "Chemophobia" (Letter in reply to Breslow's commentary) by George Baggett, The Scientist 26 July 1993, 7(15):12
- A look at Chemophobia. by Christian Thorsten.
- Molecules at an Exhibition by John Emsley (a critic of chemophobia) Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1998. Hardback, ISBN 0-19-850266-4. Paperback, ISBN 0-19-850379-2. [2]
- Snopes' assessment of urban legends involving 'toxic' chemicals
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