Chasing Molecules : Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry

Each day, headlines warn that baby bottles are leaching dangerous chemicals, nonstick pans are causing infertility, and plastic containers are making us fat. What if green chemistry could change all that? What if rather than toxics, our economy ran on harmless, environmentally-friendly materials? Elizabeth Grossman, an acclaimed journalist who brought national attention to the contaminants hidden in computers and other high tech electronics, now tackles the hazards of ordinary consumer products. She shows that for the sake of convenience, efficiency, and short-term safety, we have created synthetic chemicals that fundamentally change, at a molecular level, the way our bodies work. The consequences range from diabetes to cancer, reproductive and neurological disorders. Yet it’s hard to imagine life without the creature comforts current materials provide—and Grossman argues we do not have to. A scientific revolution is introducing products that are “benign by design,” developing manufacturing processes that consider health impacts at every stage, and is creating new compounds that mimic rather than disrupt natural systems. Through interviews with leading researchers, Grossman gives us a first look at this radical transformation. Green chemistry is just getting underway, but it offers hope that we can indeed create products that benefit health, the environment, and industry. In Chasing Molecules, Investigative Journalist Elizabeth Grossman Opens The Door On A New World Of Chemistry-green Chemistry - And The Scientists Who Are Unearthing The Field's Potential To Transform Manufacturing With Unprecedented Benefits To The Corporate Bottom Line And Our Health. She Finds That A Revolution Is Brewing, And Its Rallying Call Is Benign By Design. These Scientists Are Creating New, Non-toxic Materials That Work With Natural Systems Instead Of Disrupting Them. Traveling The World To See This Cutting-edge Science At Work, Grossman Gives Us A First Look At The Next Big Idea In Industrial Technology, Along With The Passion, Excitement, And Hope On The Front Lines Of Innovation. There's Something In The Air -- Swimmers, Hoppers, And Fliers -- Laboratory Curiosities And Chemical Unknowns -- The Polycarbonate Problem -- Plasticizers : Health Risks Or Fifty Years Of Denial Of Data? -- The Persistent And Pernicious -- Out Of The Frying Pan -- Nanotechnology : Perils And Promise Of The Infinitesimal -- Material Consequences : Toward A Greening Of Chemistry -- Epilogue : Redesigning The Future -- Appendix : Principles Of Green Chemistry And Molecular Design Pyramid Questions. Elizabeth Grossman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 205-239) And Index.