Summary:
An overview of the cleaning agent bleach, including its uses, chemical makeup, and dangers associated with its misuse.
Bleach is a cleaning agent found in every household. It is used to kill all types of bacteria and has a PH value of around 12.5. A PH of 12.5 can easily cause 2nd degree chemical burns if used in a concentrated solution and kill and dissolve almost all forms of bacteria. Bleach is also used in hair dying. Hair is mainly keratin, the same protein found in skin and fingernails. The natural color of hair depends on the ratio and quantities of two other proteins, eumelanin and phaeomelanin. Today, over 75% of women bleach their hair. Bleach basically breaks down this protein and in doing so, severely discolors it. Bleach does this to almost everything containing acidic properties.
Bleach contains Chlorine- which was the main ingredient in gas bombs used during World War I and World War II and was also the main gas used to mass murder the Jews in Nazi concentration camps across Europe. When chlorine comes in contact with Slaked Lime (CaO) and forms what is most commonly known as bleaching powder. When this bleaching powder is mixed with water it forms Hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is a mild oxidant and there when in contact with most materials it reacts with the material present to form Hydrochloric acid and releases oxygen (This is what makes the material turn white). Therefore: Hypochlorous acid + Material = Hydrochloric acid + Bleached Material. Liquid bleach is usually aqueous Sodium Hypochorite, a sodium salt of Hydrochloric acid.
Another substance found in household bleach is Sulphur Dioxide gas. One might have heard of this much talked about toxic gas as it is one of the main causes of Acid Rain. The Sulphur Dioxide gas dissolves in the rain water to form a acidic solution, which in turn dissolves certain types of stone, eg. Limestone. This acidic solution also mixes in rivers and lakes killing much of the marine population. Sulphur Dioxide is also a major bleaching agent and is found in all household bleaches.
Bleach also contains several other toxic, harmful chemicals, some of which include Potassium Manganate, Hydrogen Peroxide, Sodium Peroxide, "Borax" and Sodium Perborate. Each of these chemicals are very strong oxidants and play their own role in the process of bleaching.
After discussing what bleach consists of, I will now focus on its direct harms and the damage one can do or sustain with the misuse of simple household bleach. If bleach is mixed with ammonia or ammonia containing products (eg. Oven Cleaner), the sodium hypochlorite reacts with the ammonia products to release large amounts of chlorine gas. If just a few breaths are inhaled, there is enough chlorine gas in your lungs to inflict serious damage, if not kill you. For the curious chemist, this is the exact chemical reaction that takes place: 2NaOCl + 2NH3 = 2NaONH3 + Cl2. Chlorine is an extremely reactive gas that contains seven electrons in its outer shell. The Octet Rule states that all elements try to fill in their outer electron shell until they have eight electrons. As you may notice, chlorine seems to be missing one electron. When inhaled, the chlorine gas, with seven electrons, will react with, and in doing so, quite literally tear the insides of your respiratory system to gain that one needed electron. The reaction might also produce sodium hydroxide and a nitrogen trichloride. This nitrogen chloride is very volatile and explosive and before one can even come close to inhaling it, it would already have blows up. In another possible reaction between bleach and ammonia, a chemical knows as hydrazine is produced, hydrazine is a component of rocket fuel. Also one can mix Hydrochloric acid with bleach to get impure chlorine gas, but all the same quite likely to do some serious harm. And for those "D.I.Y" chemists, by using a concentrated solution of urine, one can also obtain a small amount of impure chlorine gas. And if one cannot be bothered to produce the chlorine gas, if bleach itself is ingested in the system, it will react with the hydrochloric acid in the stomach producing chlorine gas which will react with the inside of the stomach and flow around inside of you and enter the trachea one way or another, that is if the bleach has not already eaten away your stomach lining and eaten away internal organs.
If one was so inclined, by using simple, over-the-counter-available bleach, one could definitely be capable of doing some serious harm. In 2004, approximately 138 Americans were killed by the ingestion of bleach. It is in our best interest to understand the harms of bleach and one must question if it is safe to use bleach in such quantities all the while knowing of the effects of misuse of bleach.
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