Organic Compounds in Society: Benefits, Risks and Taking Action

Weighing benefits and risks

Organic compounds have transformed life in Canada. Plastics keep food fresh and medical equipment sterile; medicines relieve pain and cure infections; fertilizers and pesticides help farmers grow more food on less land; synthetic fibres keep people warm in a northern winter. Some of the same compounds also cause harm: plastic litter in the Great Lakes, pesticides that affect pollinators, chemicals released near industrial sites.

Scientists, governments and citizens weigh these benefits and risks using a few key ideas:

• Hazard: can the substance cause harm? (Is it toxic, flammable, carcinogenic?)
• Exposure: how much reaches people or wildlife, for how long, and by what route (breathing, eating, skin)?
• Risk = hazard combined with exposure. A very hazardous chemical sealed in a lab has low risk; a mildly hazardous one that everyone breathes every day may have a significant risk.
• Persistence and bioaccumulation: compounds that last a long time and build up in living things can cause harm far from where they were used, long after.

The idea that the amount matters is old: the 16th-century physician Paracelsus is credited with the saying that the dose makes the poison.

Case 1: Plastics and microplastics

Benefits: light, strong, cheap, waterproof, shapeable, and often lower in transport energy than glass or metal. In hospitals, single-use plastics (syringes, IV bags) prevent infection.

Risks: most common plastics are addition polymers with C–C backbones that do not hydrolyse, so they persist for a very long time. Litter breaks into microplastics, which have been found in the Great Lakes, in Arctic sea ice, in drinking water and in food. Researchers are still studying their effects on health. Burning plastics, especially PVC, can release harmful gases.

Canadian actions:

• Canada banned microbeads in toiletries such as face scrubs and toothpaste in 2018.
• The federal Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations ban the manufacture and sale of checkout bags, cutlery, certain foodservice ware, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws (with exceptions, for example for people who need flexible straws). These were challenged in court; in January 2026 the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the government's listing of plastic manufactured items as toxic, which the ban is based on.
• Ontario municipalities run Blue Box recycling, but which plastics are accepted varies, so the resin code alone doesn't tell you if an item is recyclable.

Case 2: Pesticides

Benefits: pesticides protect crops from insects, weeds and fungi, increase yields and help prevent diseases spread by insects.

Risks: some are toxic to non-target organisms. DDT, a chlorinated organic compound, is persistent and fat-soluble, so it bioaccumulates and biomagnifies up food chains. It thinned the eggshells of birds of prey such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons. After it was phased out in Canada and the U.S. in the 1970s, these birds recovered. Neonicotinoid insecticides have raised concerns about bees and other pollinators.

Ontario actions: the Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act (in force since 2009) bans most pesticides for purely cosmetic uses on lawns and gardens. Since 2015, Ontario has regulated the use of neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed.

Case 3: Food additives, supplements and medicines

• Food additives such as preservatives (sodium benzoate), sweeteners and colours are assessed by Health Canada before they are allowed. Preservatives reduce food spoilage and food poisoning. Some people are sensitive to particular additives, which is why ingredients must be listed on labels. The 2018 ban on partially hydrogenated oils (Lesson 6) shows that a permitted ingredient can be removed when evidence of harm grows.
• Supplements are regulated in Canada as natural health products. "Natural" does not automatically mean safe or effective; look for the eight-digit NPN (Natural Product Number) on the label and for evidence from reliable studies.
• Medicines such as ASA and acetaminophen relieve pain and fever, but every medicine has risks: too much acetaminophen can seriously damage the liver. Read the label, follow the dose, and dispose of unused medicines through a pharmacy take-back program, never down the drain.

Case 4: Industrial chemicals and communities

Sarnia, on the St. Clair River, is home to one of Canada's largest concentrations of petrochemical plants, sometimes called "Chemical Valley". During the Second World War, the federally created Polymer Corporation began making synthetic rubber there, and the industry grew into a major employer.

Aamjiwnaang First Nation is located right beside many of these facilities. Community members have raised concerns about air pollution and health for many years. In April 2024, after high levels of benzene (a carcinogen, Lesson 4) were measured, Aamjiwnaang declared a state of emergency; the Ontario government ordered a nearby styrene plant to stop operating while the problem was addressed, and the federal government ordered Sarnia-area facilities to reduce benzene leaks. The situation shows why exposure matters: the same chemicals that are useful products can be a daily risk for the people who live closest to where they are made.

Forever chemicals. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are organic compounds with many very strong C–F bonds. They resist water, grease and heat, which is why they were used in non-stick coatings, stain repellents, some food packaging and firefighting foams. The same strong bonds make them extremely persistent. In March 2025 the federal government concluded that PFAS as a class (except fluoropolymers) can harm human health and the environment and proposed managing them as toxic substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Evaluating information (A1.9)

On topics like these you will find strong opinions online. Ask:

• Who wrote it, and why? A company selling a product, an advocacy group and a government agency may all present facts selectively.
• Is it evidence or opinion? Look for data, sample sizes and references to peer-reviewed studies.
• Is the hazard confused with the risk? "Contains a chemical linked to cancer" says nothing about exposure.
• Is it current? Regulations change; check the date and the government source (Health Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ontario ministries).
• Do several independent, reliable sources agree?

Record your sources with full citations (A1.7) so others can check them.

Your personal action plan (B1.2)

Small choices, multiplied across millions of people, make a difference. Examples of actions that reduce harmful organic compounds:

• Weed by hand or use mulch instead of using herbicides.
• Bring reusable bags, bottles and containers; avoid single-use plastics when practical.
• Choose walking, cycling, transit, car-pooling or a fuel-efficient, hybrid or electric vehicle to cut fuel combustion.
• Take household hazardous waste (paint, solvents, batteries, pesticides) to your municipality's depot, and unused medicines to a pharmacy.
• Choose low-VOC paints, fragrance-free products if you are sensitive, and cleaning products you actually need.
• Read labels and look up unfamiliar ingredients in reliable sources.

A good action plan is specific (what, when, how much), realistic, and measurable (how will you know it worked?).

Careers and Canadian contributions (A2.1, A2.2)

Organic chemistry leads to many careers:

• Pharmacist (university degree in pharmacy and provincial licensing) and pharmaceutical chemist (B.Sc., often a graduate degree), who design and test medicines.
• Chemical engineer (B.Eng. and P.Eng. licence), who design plants such as those in Sarnia, and process operators and chemical technologists (college diploma programs).
• Polymer and materials scientists, who develop new plastics, including biodegradable ones.
• Environmental chemists and toxicologists, who measure pollutants and assess risks for governments and communities.
• Food scientists and flavour chemists, forensic scientists, and agricultural scientists.

In Ontario, chemists can earn the professional designation P.Chem. through the Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario.

Canadian contributions: in 1953, Raymond Lemieux and his team at the National Research Council laboratory in Saskatoon achieved the first chemical synthesis of sucrose (table sugar), a landmark in carbohydrate chemistry. Lemieux later led chemistry research at the University of Alberta. The University of Toronto team of Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod isolated insulin, a protein, in 1921–1922, and Sarnia's wartime synthetic rubber industry was a major Canadian achievement in polymer production.