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Plastic Troubles: Brominated Flame Retardants (PBDEs)

3. September 2009

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Plastic Troubles: Brominated Flame Retardants (PBDEs)

Almost all pure plastics are inherently flammable. When exposed to heat and flame, the polymers in plastics split into smaller, more volatile pieces. The only thing that keeps most plastics from going up in smoke are the flame retardants mixed into the plastics themselves. But at what cost? (Thanks to dominicspics on flickr for the shot)

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Plastic Troubles: Phthalates and Plasticizers

31. August 2009

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Plastic Troubles: Phthalates and Plasticizers

Plastic is a buzzword lately but mostly for the wrong reasons. Medical studies have lined up against the ubiquitous substance and the seas have filled with the jetsam and flotsam of our plastic society. Yet, if there was one compound responsible for this situation more than any other, phthalates might just wear the crown. Photo by adriagarcia on flickr.

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Plastic Troubles: Bisphenol A

21. August 2009

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Plastic Troubles: Bisphenol A

From grocery bags to drinking bottles, IV bags to the teflon on non-stick pans, plastics really do make everything possible. They're incredibly versatile: the final product can very in hardness, be shaped in almost any way imaginable, and is chemically inert, all for a bargain basement price. Really, it's a magical substance. Unfortunately, the very properties which make it so useful in so many industries are the same properties which make it one of the worst physical pollutant in the world.T hanks to flickr user billaday for the cool shot.

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