Are glow sticks safe? With a list like below, how can they even be allowed on the market?
e.g.
The active ingredient is Dibutyl Phthalate.
Health Effects of Dibutyl phthalate (DBP):
—Broad and disturbing trends in male reproductive health include many of the same effects seen in lab animals dosed with phthalates.
—Declining sperm count: Recent analysis of 101 studies (1934-1996) by Shanna Swan of the University of Missouri
—Testicular cancer: Men affected with defects linked to DBP – hypospadias (This condition is a physical deformity of the penis in which the opening of the urethra occurs on the bottom of the penis instead of the tip), infertility, and undescended testicles — are at greater risk for developing testicular cancer (Toppari et al 1996 and Moline 2000). http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/beautysecrets/presskit/healtheffects.html
Dibutyl Phthalate is used in the making of the plastic, not in the chemoluminescent liquid inside. The major conern with dibutyl phthalate plastics is the use in containers for potable liquids and in babies toys, where the compound can leach out and be ingested.
The the chemoluminscent compounds themselves appear relatively safe.
<DEA>
no glow sticks are evil, as are pacifiers, vicks inhalers and funky clothing. all such things encourage drug taking and hence are illegal and dangerous
</DEA>
Phthalates are used in the chemiluminescent liquid, though they are also used as plasticisers.
From Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002 Sep;156(9):901-4.
“Exposure to chemiluminescent products infrequently resulted in symptoms and the symptoms reported were minor. Exposure to chemiluminescent products as described is unlikely to cause significant morbidity or mortality.”
However phthalates are suspected estrogen mimickers, so I would try to avoid eating glowsticks. Ties in a bit with the chemical castration thread.
Cite? According to this there aren’t any phthalates involved in the reactions. If phthalates are found in the solution, it’s because they leached out of the plastic container, not because they were part of the chemistry.
I´ve wondered about this the other day when watching an Eddie Murphy´s movie, I don`t remember the title, the one where he acts as an overweight scientist that makes a formula to get thin instantly; anyway, in one of the scenes Mr. Murphy drinks from a vial a blue luminiscent liquid, it didn´t look like faked or anything, so I wondered if chemiluminescent liquid was so safe as to being edible…
All you have to do is google chemiluminescence and phthalate.
For a cite, how about Journal of Chemical Education, Vol 51, Num 8 August 1974. Page 528
The reactions you have been looking at do not mention the solvents. A common solvent system for the peroxide is 80:20 dimethyl phthalate/t-butanol. For the dye/oxalate, dimethyl phthalate is used as the solvent.
I do not know what is in the OP’s product, but it does say dibutyl phthalate, so I think its safe to geuess the manufacturers are talking about the solvent not the plasticiser. The product could just as easily be using the butyl phthalate rather than the methyl.
Ale
I havent seen The Nutty Professor and hope to god I never do, but if it wasnt CG, they may have used a fluorescent blue dye with a UV lamp.
Erm, I just don’t get this. Why on earth should they not “even be allowed on the market”? Are you suggesting that only substances that can safely be ingested should be sold.
As far as I know, great taste and nutritional value are not main selling points promoted by the makers of glow sticks. Similarly, sellers of gasoline, weedkiller, nail-varnish remover - hell, even Oreos - are allowed to go about their business selling toxic products. Why should it be otherwise?
I was under the impression that glow sticks utilise the luciferase reaction to produce light, I think this is fairly safe. Safety studies can often give misleading impressions about the danger of substances, any chemical will produce toxicity if you are exposed to enough of it and it is easy to make things sound more dangerous than they really are. See the ongoing campaign against the scourge of dihydrogen monoxide for a good example
"So as long as you don’t try to eat it, handy, you’ll be fine. "
kids do:
“Last year, the Illinois Poison Center received more than 65 calls asking if glow sticks were dangerous.”
“Toddlers and other small children tend to put all sorts of things in their mouths. Parents should not let children bite or chew on these products and they should make sure that the glow sticks do not leak,” said Dr. Michael Wahl, administrative medical director of the center." http://www.starnewspapers.com/star/sppeople/all/032d1z1.htm
“Dibutyl Phthalate is used in the making of the plastic…”
Maybe but its also used in the chemical reaction, you can see some photos of this on the url below:
"Light sticks are activated by bending them and rupturing a capsule inside the stick. This allows the two liquids to mix and the reaction begins. The liquid that makes up the majority of the light stick is called the “oxalate.” A typical oxalate solution is prepared by mixing bis(2,3,5-trichloro-6-carbonpentoxyphenyl) oxalate and dibutyl phthalate. " http://www.cheresources.com/chemilum.shtml
gee, I thought I was bad not reading Mangetout’s reply about UV/fluorescence before writing the same myself. handy, did you read my posts?
enigmatic, the glow sticks are based on a peroxyoxalate chemiluminescent system, whereby an oxalate ester is mixed with H2O2 solution. Fluorescent dyes are also added to capture the chemical energy and convert it to a pretty colour.
Of course they do, but that is no reason to take the things off the market, it is a reason for parents to keep them out of the reach of children who are too young or stupid to know better. Kids cut themselves if you let them play with razor blades, should we take them off the market?
Fair’nuff. It’s a bit tricky linking to journal articles though. You just have to do the old fashioned thing of going to a library and finding the jouranl.
So, handy sir, I’m expecting that with you creepin on up on those 17,000 posts (and I commend you for that, and hope I’m in your shoes in 4 years) that you’ve learned to trust our man Q.E.D. You see, as far as all the posts I’ve read from him (which is a lot, and I like to think of myself as an aspiring Q.E.D.) the only person who knows more than that guy is Cecil.
So, Q.E.D., if you’re aroun, you might as well bask in the newbie envy.
But all I can add: ravers like glow sticks. Therefore, they are unholy. If you are a god fearing person, you’ll stay away. If not, then go for it. But either way, why risk it. They’re (from my experience) mostly green… and apply genetalia rule: if it’s green or blue, don’t play with it.
A few years ago on Independence Day my family went to see fireworks, and we bought glow sticks… in the car on the way home, my (then 4-year-old) sister’s broke and spilled glowing stuff on her. I flipped out, but everyone else seemed to think it was really cool. shrugs She didn’t eat any, but she had it on her skin for twenty minutes or so. Nothing happened. It’s probably not a good idea, though.
- are allowed to go about their business selling toxic products. Why should it be otherwise?