Question

how polyester can be dangerous for both our heakth and environment ?

Answer 1

Polyester is a man made syntrhetic material used widely in making textile fibres for clothing, carpets, shhets and curtains. It has many toxic chemicals embedded in it and is manufactured via chemical reactions taking place at high temperatures in vaccum involving petroleum by-products, coal, etc. So polyester is toxic in many ways and can impose serious health complications as it affect our lives in many ways.

(i) Polyester carries carcinogens like antimony, formaldehyde which induces cancer in skin, lungs and heart. Polyester contains chemicals like formaldehyde, perfluorocarbons (PFCs), etc that are absorbed into the skin and this substances accumulate in the blood over time which enhance the risk of cancer. PFCs also known to cause liver, kidney and reproductive system damage. (ii) As we breathe around polyesters, the fabric fibre can initiate chronic respiratory infections and act as irritant in patients having allergies and asthmatic conditions. (iii) Porolonged use of polyester may induce skin problems like rashes, itching, redness, eczema and dermatitis. (iv) Polyester made clothes when used as undergarments by males affect the sperm count adversely. (v) Polyester can affect immune system of children because anything toxic will affects them first. The immune system and liver detoxification become more sensitive to toxic chemicals and they might provoked certain hypersensitive responses that may prove fatal. (vi) Polyester are water resistant which essentialy implies that water vapours released by our body is not absorbed and feels a damp sensation. Thus it disturbs the sleep cycle.

Polyester is not only dangerous for our health but also equally detrimental to the environment. Polyester is a synthetic petroleum based fibre and so it is practically impossible to recycle polyester and it would take around 200 years for complete biodegradation. The precursors of polyester are highly toxic and carcinogenic and results in serious water and air pollution. The polyester fibres is a major source of microplastics pollution. The accumul;ation of various synthetic fibres in the form of plastics which serves as a by-product of petroleum clogged the waterways and water bodies affecting marine life and it has been found that fishes consumed synthetic nylons which was examined in their intestinal tract. Several seabirds also die due to ingestion of poisonous polyester fibres. The process of polyester synthesis produces many waste products and chemicals that are washed into river water leading to deaths of several aquatic flora and fauna.