Publish at June 14 2023 Updated June 14 2023
Poisoning has been around since the dawn of time. Ancient stories tell of women poisoning their enemies or lovers with hemlock, among other things. Since then, chemistry has arrived, and with it unsuspected poisons being used unknowingly by humans.
This science was not originally intended to be used to make the environment toxic. Chemistry has enabled the creation of many products made to improve our daily lives. Yet few tests were carried out to ensure that some were harmful to people and the ecosystem. For example, arsenic has long been used in green paint to ensure that the colored pigment remains long-lasting. The result: "Paris green" was responsible for many illnesses and deaths before it was banned.
Today, the chemical industry is able to create hundreds of products a day. Not all are tested for toxicity. As a result, fauna, flora and humans are relentlessly under the yoke of little-known derivatives. The possibilities are almost endless, and regulations are slow to appear at international level. Because synthetics know no borders.
Thankfully, massive databanks are enabling some people to find out what's going on in the laboratories and start analyses more quickly. What's more, participatory science - that is, science that takes into account the communities affected by a product or phenomenon - is helping to defend environments from a chemical industry that is sometimes out of touch. For example, the Navajos in the USA were able to demonstrate, with the help of scientists, the disastrous effects of nuclear testing and gas and oil extraction on their citizens.
Duration: 27min45
Image: Yerson Retamal / Pixabay
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