Chemicals are a necessary part of life, whether they are in the form of plants and animals, or in the air we breathe. Many chemicals are hazardous to people’s health, especially those that are known to be carcinogenic or cancer-causing agents. Luckily, there are many different methods of preserving chemicals so that they can be passed on from generation to generation, as long as the substance is not altered in any way. However, knowing how to preserve chemicals involves more than just pouring chemicals into a bottle, labeled, and shoved into a wooden box for years on end.
An article in the March/ April issue of the Archives of Environmental Health focuses on the effects of exposing children to dangerous chemicals. Dr. Laura Gertson, associate professor at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Champaign, writes that exposure to numerous toxins can cause chemical sensitivity and often sets up lifelong sensitivities to environmental issues, such as animal fur, pesticides, lead paint, and household cleaning products. In fact, the chemical Erythrulose, used to make rat poisons, is known to cause a host of problems including organ toxicity and nerve damage, according to the Archives of Environmental Health. The Environmental Working Group, an organization made up of thousands of environmental groups, also recommends the use of properly labeled safety sealants on containers that contain potentially dangerous chemicals.
When it comes to chemical preservation, it is a matter of knowing which chemicals go best with each other, and how much of each chemical is affected by the other. If you want to know how to store everything around, and then you should know that the best way to store things is by wrapping them up in plastic bags with a little hole in the corner. Chemicals do not like each other, getting mixed up, so it is a good idea to leave a little space between the chemicals, so that they cannot touch each other. Once chemicals are stored in this manner, they will not be disturbed for years on end.