/oss/taxonomy/term/386/all en /oss/article/medical-history/tale-benzene-poisoning-and-snake-snaring-its-own-tail <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-a-tale-of-a-snake-snaring-its-tail">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>Professor Carl Santesson was intrigued.</p> Fri, 29 Mar 2024 16:38:54 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9889 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-environment/where-there-smoke-there-are-air-quality-indices <p>I woke up from a nap to see a doomsday-esque picture outside the car window. My friends and I were driving back to Montreal during the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/wildfire-smoke-montreal-has-worlds-worst-air-quality-today">poorest air quality day of the summer</a>, and the city looked near apocalyptic. The sky was orangey grey, the sun was invisible, and the air smelt strongly of smoke. As someone who lived in Ontario and Quebec most of my life, I’m unaccustomed to bad air quality caused by forest fire smoke.</p> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:37:26 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9571 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/benzene-jitters <p>At one time it was used as an aftershave because of its sweet smell.  It was even used to decaffeinate coffee.  Oh my, how times change!  Today we worry about a few parts per billion of benzene in our drinking water, in our soft drinks, in our antiperspirants or sun protection products.  Why?  Because benzene is an established carcinogen and should be avoided.  But benzene also happens to be one of the building blocks of our society.  Traces of it are everywhere.  Given that eliminating benzene from the environment is impossible, what we need is a reasonable risk analysis.  That’s quite a c</p> Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:26:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8995 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-environment/decline-rush-hour-traffic-boon-health <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-decline-in-rush-hour-traffic-a-boon-for-health">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> <hr /> <p>Soon everyone, or almost everyone, will be vaccinated and many people who have been working from home will have to figure out when they will be returning to the office. The decision is a complicated one.</p> <p>Many people enjoy working from home when possible and were probably surprised to realize that it can be quite feasible. Of course, it was not everyone’s cup of tea.</p> Fri, 09 Jul 2021 18:40:44 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8782 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-pseudoscience/anti-vaccine-propaganda-robert-f-kennedy-jr <p>Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., does not want you to think of him as an anti-vaxxer. I have yet to meet an anti-vaxxer—someone who spreads misinformation about all vaccines being harmful—who is comfortable with the label. Kennedy is not just anti-vaccine; by many recent accounts, he is one of the princes of the anti-vaccination movement, if not its king.</p> Fri, 16 Apr 2021 20:49:45 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8703 at /oss /oss/article/videos-environment/right-chemistry-ups-and-downs-plastics <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-npg8n0dve9i" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The ups and downs of plastics" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Npg8N0DVE9I?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-npg8n0dve9i&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The ups and downs of plastics" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The ups and downs of plastics</iframe> </div> </p> Mon, 29 Apr 2019 14:38:51 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7732 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-technology/plastics <p>"I hate plastics. We should get rid of them.” So began an email I received. The correspondent went on to talk about how plastics are a plague on the environment, how they contain chemicals that contaminate our food supply, disrupt our hormones, cause autism and ADHD and use up valuable petroleum deposits. What prompted the email was some comments I made about different plastics having different properties and how there were some concerns with some but not with others.</p> Sat, 16 Jul 2016 01:36:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2346 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-cosmetics-environment-health-toxicity-you-asked/you-asked-should-we-worry-about-plastic-pollution <p>Plastics are the fabric of modern life. They’re in our cars, our planes, our kitchens, our electronics, our furniture, our bottles, our packaging, our floors and our medical equipment. We are using more and more plastics and unfortunately also discarding more and more. And that’s a problem. Plastic debris is commonly sighted on the landscape and is accumulating in marine habitats. A recent study revealed that plastics make up 50-80% of shoreline debris and accumulate in certain areas of the oceans. There is already a huge plastic wastedump in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!</p> Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:54:14 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD & Alexandra Pires-Ménard, OSS Intern 2128 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-health/cleaning-air-jeans <p>You may want them in your jeans, but you probably want to keep them away from your genes. They’re “nano” particles of titanium dioxide, about ten billionths of a meter in diameter that can exhibit beneficial properties not possessed by their larger cousins, but they may also have a darker side.</p> Wed, 18 Nov 2015 01:02:27 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2294 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/pollution-incinerators <p>Just about any scientific issue is more complicated than it first seems. And so it is with incineration of waste. A "yes" or "no" answer cannot be given to the question of whether or not incineration is the best way to treat municipal or industrial waste. There are many many variables! It depends on what sort of incinerator, what sort of garbage, how much garbage, where the incinerator is to be located and what landfill opportunities are available.</p> Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:08:14 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1596 at /oss