Michael Dourson: A true story about chemical risk and benefits
Michael L. Dourson, Ph.D., DABT, FATS, FSRA
Guest columnist
Our story is about a pesticide. People are often worried about pesticides because they are toxic chemicals. Pesticides are toxic, so that they can kill things like bugs.
DDT is a bug spray. It was outlawed in many countries because once you spray it, DDT breaks down very slowly in the environment. Since it stays around for a long time, it moves up the food chain and when birds eat bugs sprayed with DDT the chemical causes their egg shells to become thin.]
Michael Dourson: Too much of a good thing?
Michael L. Dourson, PhD., DABT, FATS, FSRA
Guest columnist
We have all likely heard someone say something is “too much of a good thing.” This applies to foods like ice cream, drinks, wine and many kinds of activities, like watching movies. However, this also applies to chemicals to which we are exposed every day or about which we often read in our daily news.
In fact, all chemicals are toxic at some level. Some can cause harm at very small concentrations while others need a large amount before there is a danger to our health. For example, ingesting large amounts of dihydrogen monoxide can cause low blood sodium concentrations leading to nausea, fatigue, confusion and seizures and even death. But few people would want to ban di-hydrogen (H2) mono-oxide (O) also known as “water” from public sale and or other uses since water is safe and necessary when we drink a normal amount.