What are the negative impacts of chemistry for society?

Answer 1

Positive:

1) Helps mankind develop food preservatives.

2) Helps man develop explosives to extract minerals and clear waterways, etc.

3)Helps mankind develop new pesticides

4)Helps mankind develop new materials (plastics) from air, coal, oil, etc.

5) Helps man refine minerals, gold,etc.

Negative:

1) Controversy over whether preservatives don't cause more harm in cancer, etc, than the good they do.

2) Those killed in blasts making explosives, and in wars, bombings,criminal use of explosives, accidents in mines, ignorance,etc.

3) Discovering many pesticides have bad residual effects--DDT, etc.

4) Waste of plastics that can't be recycled effectively and are not biodegradeable. Controversy over chances of poisoning and cancers from volatiles in plastics getting into food and water table.

5) Many chemicals use to refine and to maintain machinery extremely toxic and/or carcinogens that must be tightly controlled: Mercury,cyanides, hexavalentchromium in lubricants for steam turbines, etc.

Source(s):chem major one year."Erin Brokovitch". Old gold and cinnabar mine tours.

Answer 2

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