Jansen Banashak 1

Jansen Banashak

Mrs.Miller

English 12

5 February, 2024

Chloroacetic Acid

“National Library of Medicine.”

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Chloroacetic-acid

Chloroacetic acid is used in a countless number of ways around the world. From cleaning

agents to a herbicide, chloroacetic acid is an important component of everyday life.

Chloroacetic acid is a monohalogenated acetic acid that is used as a photosensitizing

agent and also in industrial synthesis of certain organic chemicals such as indigoid dyes.

Even though chloroacetic acid is used in a positive way alot, there are many negatives.

Many diseases can be drawn from chloroacetic acid due to exposure. A few of these

being: lactic acidosis, hemolytic, Iatrogenic disease, etc. Exposure to chloroacetic acid

is most likely to occur in a workplace. A fire with this acid could cause environmental

contamination and a burn to the skin could cause electrolyte loss. It is also an ingredient

in many personal care and body hygiene products. An example of this would be hand

soap. This article is posted by a government website so it's real.

“New Jersey Gov.”

https://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0373.pdf

Chloroacetic acid can have some negative effects on the human body if not handled

correctly. Long term effects could occur from repeated exposures to a chemical at levels
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not high enough to make you sick immediately. Exposures are more likely with the

conditions of releasing operations, physical/mechanical processes. But the risk of getting

sick is higher than the workers, not the community residents. The more exposure that you

are around, the higher your chances are of getting affected. Some ways to reduce chances

of exposure are respirators, protective clothing, and to make sure to wash your body

thoroughly. Exposure with chloroacetic acid could cause anxiety, restlessness, blurred

vision, hallucinations, and possibly death. This could come from inhaling or physically

touching the acid. These are some negative effects of chloroacetic acid.

“PCC Group.”

https://www.products.pcc.eu/en/blog/from-shampoo-to-glyphosate-or-where-monochloroacetic-a

cid-is-used/

Chloroacetic acid is used in countless products all around the world. It is used in the

personal hygiene industry. Chloroacetic acid is an amphoteric surfactant which means it

has foaming properties. This is very useful for hair shampoo and other hair styling

formulants. The acid is also present in various processes in pulp and paper,

pharmaceutical, food, and mining industries. The primary use is the manufacture of

carboxymethylcellulose. In the production of pharmaceuticals, chloroacetic acid is used

for ibuprofen, synthetic caffeine, vitamin b6, and diclofenac sodium salt. It is crazy that

one substance is used in so many different positive ways to help people everywhere

around the world. This proves that even though something could have a lot of negative

effects, it could help the world in countless ways.

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Jansen Banashak Mark Carslisle 10/29/23

During my interview with my mentor, Mark Carslisle, I had a chance to get to know him

and his job in ways I couldn't have without social interaction.