/oss/taxonomy/term/1168/all en /oss/article/medical-technology/springtime-montreal-means-scent-asphalt-air <p>So, what is asphalt and where does it come from? The source is petroleum, that dark viscous liquid found deep within the Earth, the product of once living organisms subjected to millennia of intense pressure and heat. It is not an understatement to say that petroleum is vital to modern life. It is of course used to produce the fuel that our cars, trucks, buses, ships and airplanes run on, but petroleum also furnishes the raw materials used to make our plastics, synthetic fibres, medications, agrochemicals and personal care products.</p> Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9923 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/safety-and-chemistry-self-cleaning-oven <hr /> <p>Si vous voulez lire cet article en français, <a href="https://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/actualite/detecteur-rumeurs/2018/12/06/four-autonettoyant-securitaire-deux-choses-savoir">cliquez ici! </a></p> Thu, 21 Jun 2018 15:49:24 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7143 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health-news-toxicity/dont-get-burned-polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons <p>With every breath we take we come closer to death. And if those breaths contain a good dose of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, we may be getting to the end faster. These compounds are nasty pollutants, associated with respiratory disease, but the big concern is that several of them are known carcinogens. They are composed of carbon atoms joined together in various ring structures, very much like chicken wire. Indeed their chemistry is often referred to as chicken-wire chemistry.</p> Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:02:07 +0000 Alexandra Pires-Ménard, OSS Intern 1996 at /oss