Microwaving+Plastics


 * Abstract**

The background in so many words says that it will leak into the food after they are microwaved and it can cause risks. For example fatty foods have a softening agent in them which causes them to leach out into your food. When the FDA approves something they run tests on it to make sure it is safe. Its based on the amount of time in the microwave and the heat at which it is heated. The health hazards of dioxins are said to lead to fetal diseases,but this is proven not to be true.The FDA have approved plastic containers to be microwaved.Also many plastics have been tested for the amount of time a "everyday" person have microwaved items.In a politics view dioxins have no effect on anything but ht eenvironment and the economy recycling cost and for people who dont is costing them money. The chemical that was supposedly suppose to be released from melting plastics was dioxins, however it has been studied that most plastics can stand the heat of microwaves, and it prevents them from melting and releasing chemicals.


 * Background**

When food is wrapped in plastic or placed in a plastic container and microwaved, substances used in manufacturing the plastic (plasticizers) may leak into the food. In particular, fatty foods such as meats and cheeses cause a softening agent called diethylhexyl adipate to leach out. This certainly sounds scary, so it’s little wonder that a warning is making its way across the Web. The FDA, recognizing the potential for small amounts of plasticizers to migrate, closely regulates plastic containers and materials that come into contact with food. Before approving a container, the FDA conducts tests to make sure that it doesn’t leak unsafe amounts of any substance into food.For microwave approval, the agency estimates the ratio of plastic surface area to food, how long the container is likely to be in the microwave, how often a person is likely to eat from the container, and how hot the food can be expected to get during microwaving. Because microwaves heat the water in food, the peak temperature is the boiling point of water — 212º F, or 100º C. The only exception is microwave popcorn and other packages that come with the instruction, “this side down.” Such packages, says Pauli, are made with small amounts of metal to create a “frying pan effect.” They get hotter than the boiling point of water and are tested accordingly.


 * Chemistry**

The chemicals that are released from microwaving plastic are dioxins and dioxins are a chemical that are harmful to humans as shown by the picture in heavy doses.



Synthesis of this chemical involves them being held by oxygen and is heated at 160 degrees C.

Its a very stable chemical and going through reactions it reacts as normally as any chemical would.


 * Human Health**

There are some allegations that health hazards of dioxins released when you microwave plastics lead to fetal diseases. However, no need to be alarmed, the FDA test all plastic containers by how long the average person would microwave it and how much the average person eats. So some plastics actually have a microwave safe label on them. "But what about the plastics with out said label?" Well, like I said, all plastics are tested and some may not have been approved yet because the FDA can't decide, or maybe the plastics are too thin, but most plastics are all made the same and most plastics are safe. However this does not mean all plastics are safe to microwave. Some plastics can't stand the heat of a microwave and will literally start to melt, and with your food mixing with melted plastic is obviously a health risk if digested. However the FDA and the Standing Committee of Nutrition states that plastic would only have dioxins in them if they are being used to store dioxins, which the average American obviously does last with their plastic containers.


 * Politics**

Dioxins as a whole has no effect on any of these things but indirectly it effects the environment and also economy. By this I mean that if people don't recycle it will get stuck in the waste system and eventually get stuck in the ocean. If this happens it will cause animals and others to be harmed and eventually send us into a post apocalyptic world. As the economy goes because the U.S is trying to conserve energy we try to find more constructive ways to get energy. That means we can't use as much natural gas which by some crazy coincidence the U.S uses to make plastic. This means plastic will start to cost more in the U.S. indirectly the dioxins are a part of all of this and will start to cause our apocalypse.


 * Summary**

The reason that the project is to info the public of the dangers within their home.For example of many time have you wanted something to eat such as Roman noodles and send as you placed it in the microwave no time to take the plastic off hunger and what could happen little to most people know you could be giving yourself cancer or are you.The step and measures taken toward this experiment was extract research which bond to the cancer statement earlier the fact is that doing so does not give you cancer,but is still bad to do this.We toke the approach thought others testing our own.The finding lend us to the result of it not truly causing cancer. Conclusion is even thought it does not give you cancer by doing so is still bad because of melting and over heating other items. So the whole myth of cancer being released in your food is a half and half situation, where most plastics are safe to microwave but there are some out there that are not FDA approved and might release some chemicals in your food.


 * Citations**

Komaroff, Anthony. " Microwaving food in plastic: Dangerous or not? ." President and Fellows of Harvard College. N/A.N/A (N/A): N/A. Web. 16 Mar 2010. .

Quiries, Mediain. "Dioxins and their effects on human health ." WHO Media centre 1. Web. 16 Mar 2010. .

N/A, N/A. "Update to the ATSDR Policy Guideline for Dioxins and Dioxin-Like Compounds in Residential Soil." Substances and Disease Registry n/a: 1. Web. 16 Mar 2010. .