March 16th, 2012
Today, we take for granted that our medicines and juices are pure, our meat does not harbor bacteria and many consumer products may be used safely.
Standards for health and safety have been established by credible scientific research. Everyone relies on the precise analysis of chemists and other scientists to give us peace of mind when using countless products every day. This safety was not always the case.
In the 1920s, it was common for companies to use mercury in laxatives. Under the then-ineffectual Federal Drug Administration, manufacturers did not list the ingredients in their products. Nor were they required to test their products for safe usage. Consumers, and even the drug-makers themselves, were unaware of any hidden poisons.
Contemporary scientists analyzed the biochemical effects of substances found in the home and pharmacy. Their studies revealed that the mercury of the laxative medicine, for example, accumulated in the body and caused death.
The ground-breaking research of these scientists, who carefully built the model for forensic medicine, is the subject of The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum.
The book recounts how, between 1918 and 1936, a team of doctors, chemists and toxicologists developed procedures that revealed how unsafe many medicines and consumer products were.
The importance of reliable scientific research, which occurs behind the scenes before products are brought to market, cannot be over-estimated. As reviewer Matthew Pearl states, The Poisoner’s Handbook will “transform the way you think about the power of science to . . . save our lives.”
Tags: Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry, scientific research, specialty chemicals, Sustainability, The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum.
Posted in Education, In the news, Market studies, Packaging, Plastics, Products, Sustainability
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February 2nd, 2012
Easy-to-handle aromatic diamine curative recently modified to greatly reduce odor while retaining performance
BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) announced today that it has greatly reduced the odor of its ETHACURE 300 liquid aromatic diamine curative used in both hot and room-temperature polyurethane cast elastomers and sealants.
“This is an advancement that will considerably increase the utility of ETHACURE 300, especially in consumer market applications where odor is critical,” says Chris Knight, global business director of curatives and antioxidants. “Furthermore, we were able to maintain the high properties and performance characteristics of our safe and effective ETHACURE 300 diamine curative.”
Albemarle’s curatives business is part of the company’s polymer solutions business segment. For more information about ETHACURE curatives, please visit http://www.curatives.com/.
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2010 and 2011. Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to http://www.albemarle.com/_, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.
Tags: albemarle, albemarle corporation, Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry, specialty chemicals
Posted in Company Information, Conferences, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, Packaging, albemarle
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January 17th, 2012
This ScienceLives article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
Marc Hillmyer loves plastic. He is fascinated by the incredible properties that these amazing materials exhibit. They can be stronger than steel, stop a speeding bullet, convert light into electricity, protect us from harmful pathogens, and help cure disease and repair our bodies.
As a chemist, Hillmyer thinks hard about the polymer molecules that make up plastic and how to design new materials with even more advanced properties and applications. However, while plastic polymers are essential to myriad technologies we encounter every day, the production and disposal of these products presents inescapable environmental challenges that are costly to correct at a minimum and unsustainable in the long term.
In his latest mission, Marc focuses his research attention on solving the “sustainability problem” in the world of plastics by developing alternatives using renewable bulk materials like carbohydrates, plant oils and plant based organic compounds called terpenes. He envisions the plastics of tomorrow being even more remarkable from both performance and sustainability perspectives.
To learn more about Marc, click here.
Tags: albemarle corporation, brominated compounds, eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, flame retardant, plastic, specialty chemicals, Sustainability
Posted in Company Information, Education, In the news, Packaging, Products, Sustainability
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