Opinion

Two abused words: Chemicals, organic

Posted July 31, 2017 12:01 am

Could it be that two of the most abused and misused words today are 'chemicals' and 'organic'?

This letter is in response to an article in the Daily Herald (Health and Fitness Section) by Dr. Annette Wagner, July 17. In the article, Dr. Wagner stated that it is OK to use sunscreens on infants as long as the sunscreen is "chemical-free".

Now, with all the chemistry which Dr. Wagner has studied, she should know that there is no such thing as a "chemical-free" sunscreen. All matter in the material universe is made up of "100 percent chemical". What she meant to say was that all sunscreens used on infants and toddlers should be free of "additives" such as fragrances, colorants and thickeners, etc., and contain only the basic sunscreen ingredients, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and water.

We'll save the discussion of the misuse of the term "organic" for another time.

L. Dean Hufsey

Elgin

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