Industrial and Agricultural Chemicals
The Topics (9)
Formaldehyde
A pungent gas released from pressed-wood glues and resins, which International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies as a known human carcinogen, with irritation at lower levels.
Read the deep dive →Pesticides
Insect, weed and fungus killers that leave residues on produce, studied for neurodevelopmental, hormonal and cancer links, especially in children.
Read the deep dive →Benzene
A volatile solvent in gasoline vapor, exhaust and cigarette smoke, classified by International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known carcinogen tied most firmly to leukemia.
Read the deep dive →Dioxins
Persistent unwanted byproducts of burning and chemical processes that build up in fatty foods and linger in the body for years.
Read the deep dive →Glyphosate
The world's most widely used weedkiller, labeled probably carcinogenic by International Agency for Research on Cancer but judged unlikely to cause cancer by most regulators.
Read the deep dive →Asbestos
Natural fibrous minerals once used in insulation and building materials, now recognized by International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known cause of lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Read the deep dive →PCBs
Banned synthetic chlorinated oils once used in transformers and building materials that persist in the environment, food chain and human fat.
Read the deep dive →VOCs
Carbon-based chemicals evaporating from paint, furniture and cleaners, usually causing temporary irritation at household levels, with some carrying longer-term concerns.
Read the deep dive →Perchlorate
A rocket-fuel and fireworks ingredient that also occurs in desert soils and can block the thyroid's uptake of iodine.
Read the deep dive →Manufactured chemicals encountered through work, agriculture or the wider environment rather than deliberately. This is where the regulatory record is strongest and also where the gap between a workplace exposure and a consumer one is widest — a hazard established at industrial concentrations does not transfer to a trace.