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Issue 3
7th
February 2011
C&I Magazine
C&I MagazineThe leading source of news and opinion in the arena of chemical technology
Cover Story
Faced with shrinking water supplies, lower water quality and increasing
regulations, industry is turning to water treatment technology to help reduce
water consumption and discharges, writes Cynthia Challener
News
Patrick Walter,
07/02/2011
French speciality chemical company
Rhodia has developed a process to
recycle several rare earth metals from
the powders found in fluorescent
light bulbs.
Anthony King,
07/02/2011
As the ban on polycarbonate baby bottles spreads to the EU,
Anthony King looks at whether the evidence stacks up
Features
Sarah Reiter,
07/02/2011
After several years in the background, biopesticides appear to be finally coming into their own, with a market size of more than $1bn in 2010 – and climbing, writes Sarah Reiter
James Wescott & Charles Frihart,
07/02/2011
Higher fossil fuel prices and concerns over formaldehyde in
existing glue formulations have led to a resurgence in interest
in soya-based adhesives, report James Wescott & Charles Frihart
Editor's Blog
Dose of poison
Agree or disagree? Post your views below
According to Paracelsus, ‘The dose makes the poison’; in other words, what matters is not so much the substance but how much of it is present. In modern usage, international regulators and scientific authorities have interpreted this by assigning to different chemicals so-called threshold values related to their observed or projected toxicities, below which doses we are led to believe they may be safely used and applied. LD50 values, at which concentration of substance half of the cells in a population will die, are another measure adopted to instil confidence that we have some handle on safety.
But can we be sure that staying below the recommended levels will keep us safe from adverse effects? With so many chemicals now circulating in the environment, is it wise to simply assume we are safe below a pre-assigned dose of any one of these without taking account of potential interactions with others?