Chemophobia
Encyclopedia
Chemophobia literally means "fear of chemicals", but the term may be used in various ways. It is most often used to describe the assumption that "chemicals" (i.e. man made products or artificially concentrated, but naturally scouring chemicals) are bad and harmful, while "natural" things (i.e. compounds which occur naturally or which are obtained using traditional techniques) are good and healthy. General chemophobia derives from incomplete knowledge of science, or a misunderstanding of science, and is a form of technophobia
and fear of the unknown
.
The most usual use of the term "chemophobia" is analogous to "homophobia
"—a prejudice
against something rather than an irrational fear. In this sense, chemophobia is akin to technophobia
.
Some define chemophobia as a specific phobia
but most mainstream sources such as the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology do not recognize chemophobia as a psychological condition. Websites that use the specific phobia definition typically sell cures for a very wide range of specific phobias and seem to include "chemophobia" simply to enlarge the range of conditions they claim to treat. The National Institute of Health does not list chemophobia as a rare condition
.
Another definition of chemophobia is that it is a concern about learning chemistry as an academic subject.
A contributory factor to chemophobia is due to increasing sensitivity of analytical techniques that can now detect extremely low levels of chemicals. Detected levels are usually so low as to be harmless, though media often only report the fact that the chemical has been detected in such-and-such a place and that it is harmful, but not at which levels the compound might cause harm nor the levels at which it was detected.
, on the other hand, argue that this is an incorrect generalization, because every substance encountered in the universe is a chemical. Even benign, naturally occurring, or pure substances—including unpolluted air and pure water—are chemicals.
More commonly, these people fear what they perceive to be man-made, synthetic, or "unnatural" chemicals, and accept what they perceive to be "natural" chemicals. The distinction overlooks both the benign nature of some man-made substances and the deadly nature of some natural chemicals, such as natural poisons from plants.
Technophobia
Technophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. tech·no·pho·bi·a n. Fear of or aversion to technology, especially computers and high technology. -Related forms: tech'no·phobe' n., tech'no·pho'bic adj."— "tech·no·pho·bi·a - Show Spelled...
and fear of the unknown
Fear Of The Unknown
Fear of the Unknown was the debut solo album by British musician Martin Briley. It was released in 1981 on Mercury Records.- Artwork :The artwork for Fear of the Unknown was painted by Norman Walker. Briley himself had a lot of input on the artwork, having studied graphic design, and wanted the...
.
Definition and uses
- See nonclinical uses of "phobia" and prejudices described as phobias.
The most usual use of the term "chemophobia" is analogous to "homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
"—a prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
against something rather than an irrational fear. In this sense, chemophobia is akin to technophobia
Technophobia
Technophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. tech·no·pho·bi·a n. Fear of or aversion to technology, especially computers and high technology. -Related forms: tech'no·phobe' n., tech'no·pho'bic adj."— "tech·no·pho·bi·a - Show Spelled...
.
Some define chemophobia as a specific phobia
Specific phobia
A specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations...
but most mainstream sources such as the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology do not recognize chemophobia as a psychological condition. Websites that use the specific phobia definition typically sell cures for a very wide range of specific phobias and seem to include "chemophobia" simply to enlarge the range of conditions they claim to treat. The National Institute of Health does not list chemophobia as a rare condition
Rare disease
A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.Most rare diseases are genetic, and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear...
.
Another definition of chemophobia is that it is a concern about learning chemistry as an academic subject.
Causes
According to Neil Eisberg, editor of Chemistry & Industry, chemophobia is a result from a public lack of trust—compounded by sections of the media and certain environmental groups—in the chemical industry after chemical disasters:"[The chemical industry's] reputation with the general public, once extremely high, has fallen to an all-time low as a result of accidents such as BhopalBhopal disasterThe Bhopal disaster also known as Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India...
and SevesoSeveso disasterThe Seveso disaster was an industrial accident that occurred around 12:37 pm July 10, 1976, in a small chemical manufacturing plant approximately north of Milan in the Lombardy region in Italy...
and health scares fed by campaigns by environmental groups and encouraged by a sometimes gullible media.
"But where does this lack of trust[between society and business] originate? According to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, ...the present situation originated in the 'fabulous fiction' of Rachel Carson’s book Silent SpringSilent SpringSilent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
, which portrayed chemistry as a blind and brutal enemy of birds and other living creatures."
A contributory factor to chemophobia is due to increasing sensitivity of analytical techniques that can now detect extremely low levels of chemicals. Detected levels are usually so low as to be harmless, though media often only report the fact that the chemical has been detected in such-and-such a place and that it is harmful, but not at which levels the compound might cause harm nor the levels at which it was detected.
"Away from the high doses of occupational exposure, a whole host of unwanted chemicals finds their way into our bodies all the time,[but the] chemical baggage we carry is very small. It is only because of the great advances in analytical chemistry that we are able to detect it’s there at all."
Fallacy
Some people who may be described as chemophobic believe that all chemicals are at best untrustworthy, and at worst harmful. Those with a knowledge of chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, on the other hand, argue that this is an incorrect generalization, because every substance encountered in the universe is a chemical. Even benign, naturally occurring, or pure substances—including unpolluted air and pure water—are chemicals.
More commonly, these people fear what they perceive to be man-made, synthetic, or "unnatural" chemicals, and accept what they perceive to be "natural" chemicals. The distinction overlooks both the benign nature of some man-made substances and the deadly nature of some natural chemicals, such as natural poisons from plants.
See also
- Dihydrogen monoxide hoaxDihydrogen monoxide hoaxIn the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, water is called by an unfamiliar name, "dihydrogen monoxide", followed by a listing of real negative effects of this chemical, in an attempt to convince people that it should be carefully regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned...
- BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
- GeneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
- Natural ScienceNatural scienceThe natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
- Multiple chemical sensitivityMultiple chemical sensitivityMultiple chemical sensitivity is a chronic medical condition characterized by symptoms the affected person attributes to exposure to low levels of chemicals. Commonly suspected substances include smoke, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, scented products, petroleum products and paints...
, a medical syndromeSyndromeIn medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...
that the patient blames on exposure to low levels of "chemicals" - List of phobias
- Orthorexia nervosaOrthorexia nervosaOrthorexia nervosa is a term used by Steven Bratman to describe people who have developed a fixation with healthy or righteous eating and has been referred to as a mental disorder. It is not a medically recognized term....