Chemistry-Killers-Soap

What did I do tonight you ask, I hunted for a common factor between serial killers and chemistry. I have recently been captivated by the NBC television show called Hannibal, which is based on Tom Harris's novel The Red Dragon.  The show got me thinking about all the insane thoughts that can creep into a persons mind, and some of the ways they pull off their deeds. The most fascinating serial killers were not the ones who shed the most blood - no, they were the ones who did it so nonchalantly and undercover that it took a while to catch them. These sly killers, I found out had backgrounds in chemistry and used compounds as their agent of chaos.

Many of these sick people would poisons such as arsenic, cyanide, and anthrax to off their companions. All of these chemicals are detrimental to the body and their functions. The appeal of these poisons was that they can mostly go undetected and are extremely deadly. Cyanide for example could easily be snuck into a wine glass or coffee, and BAM, a murder had been committed.

I also discovered the harm that can be found in household cleaners. Dishwashing soap and laundry detergent when ingested wreak havoc on the body. A few killers used these household items as their murder devices. Instead of the maid with the gun in the bedroom, the murder mystery was a father with a cup of detergent and a hint of fertilizer with a family dinner in the kitchen. All because he understood the harm the chemicals that clean our clothes can have on the fragile system within us.


Now what do killers and chemistry have in common? Lets take a look at the soap industry and a eco-friendly solution.

Large soap companies are harming the world and people just like a serial killer harms a city. These big companies produce synthetic perfumes and harmful chemicals to make their soaps smell nice and become bubbly. These chemicals can cause major harm, like cancer and birth defects. The big industries are producing soap that makes our skin and hair shine but will only dull our lives the longer we use it. These big industries also expel a massive amount of pollutants into the nearby stream systems, a nono in the heart of a Green Chemist. The chemicals destroy the homes of local microinvertebrets and fish species, these chemicals that we spread over our skin are killing our stream friends with every wash.  We have to ask ourselves is the cost of overly priced conditioner worth the economy of our wildlife?

The solution? Hand made environmentally safe soap that steers clear of the harsh chemicals that can harm our ecosystems.You can do your own very basic Green Chem experiment that explores a few of the twelve principals of Green Chemistry in your own home. Hand made soap tackles the principle of limiting waste, and it just so happens hand making soap is a very efficient process, leaving hardly any waste. The action of making soap also has an almost perfect Atom Economy. And lastly, you can reuse anything that is left over, like extra oils and fats for future soap production.

Hand producing soap is a great way to see effective, green chemistry in action.