Black Plastic - Adult Upgrading - English Fall 2024 Richard Volk

The Saga of Black Plastic - Background

Google Scholar for Balck Plastic Patents
Through a patent, the government gives you, the inventor, the right to stop others from making, using or selling your invention from the day the patent is granted to a maximum of 20 years after the day on which you filed your patent application.

First-ever study finds cancer-causing chemicals in black plastic food-contact items sold in the U.S.
A new peer-reviewed study in Chemosphere finds, for the first-time, certain toxic chemicals in black plastic food-contact items sold in the United States. Led by scientists from Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the testing uncovered high levels of cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting flame retardant chemicals in a variety of household products made with black plastics including food serviceware, kitchen utensils, and toys.
The Dark Side of Black Plastics
I am sitting here looking around my office for anything made of black plastic. The casing of my computer is in that category, so is my coffee machine, my printer, my cell phone stand, my stapler, a bunch of pens that clutter my desk, my electronic car key, an electric heater, a flower pot, the carbon atoms in my molecular models, the armrest on my chair and a garbage can as well as the garbage bag inside it. Even some of the ducks that adorn my shelves are made of black plastic! No, I am not bored or mentally disturbed. I’ve just come across a scientific publication that has piqued my curiosity. It is all about the downside of black plastics.

APA Dictionary of Psychology - Confirmation Bias
The tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.
Joe Schwarcz PhD
Dr. Joe Schwarcz is Director of McGill University’s “Office for Science and Society” which has the mission of separating sense from nonsense. Professor Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public and was the first non-American ever to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack Award for demystifying chemistry. He was awarded the 2010 “Montreal Medal” which is the Canadian Chemical Institute’s premier prize recognizing lifetime contributions to chemistry in Canada. In 2015 he was named winner of the Balles Prize for critical thinking by the US based Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. In 2018 he was the recipient of McGill University’s “Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement Through Media.” He has also been awarded honorary degrees by Athabasca University, Cape Breton University, the University of Windsor, and Simon Fraser University.

Lambert, Andrew. “Precautionary Principle.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, July 2024. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=e81c692b-c9b9-32e6-a7b4-06b8a7e014a9.
Heuristic device for judging an action or a policy, usually in the public realm, that stresses the need to minimize harm in the context of uncertainty about the effects of that action or policy
A FRAMEWORK FOR THE APPLICATION OF PRECAUTION IN SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING ABOUT RISK
Government of Canada Framework regarding the use of the Precautionary Principle. The application of “precaution”, “the precautionary principle” or the precautionary approach” recognizes that the absence of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing decisions where there is a risk of serious or irreversible harm.