1. Environmental and Health Issues of Sodium Hydroxide<br />Sodium hydroxide is a very corrosive substance and is extremely irritant to skin contact, ingestion, eye contact and inhalation. It can cause severe burns and damage to any tissues of the body because there are two things that cause sodium hydroxide to damage the skin. Firstly, the reaction of sodium hydroxide with moisture generates heat and causes thermal burns (exothermic reaction). Secondly, the reaction of sodium hydroxide with organic molecules result in chemical burns. Long term health effects of exposure to sodium hydroxide causes the skin to be very dry, cracking and inflamed leading to dermatitis and eczema. Sodium hydroxide may be a vital cause of cancer to the oesophagus who have inhaled or ingested the compound. It is said that the cancer may develop between 12 to 42 years after ingestion of sodium hydroxide mainly due to the chemical reactions destroying and forming scared formations in the tissue. Also, contact with eyes may affect vision depending on the condition ranging from glaucoma to ulceration of eye tissue which may cause permanent loss of vision altogether. Therefore, sodium hydroxide is severely bad in contact to any tissue of the body.<br />1.0 Skin contact with sodium hydroxide.<br />If sodium hydroxide were to have contact with a metals such as aluminium, a vigorous reaction will occur and produce a flammable and explosive hydrogen gas, which can be very hazardous if not wearing proper safety gear. <br />2Al(s)+ 2NaOH(aq)+ 2H2O(l) ->2NaAlO2(s)+ 3H2(g)<br />1.1 Sodium hydroxide reacting with aluminium.<br />Sodium hydroxide exposed in the atmosphere could be very dangerous since it readily reacts with other chemicals since it is subject to wet deposition . It can readily react with water vapour in the air and produce aerosol or mist which are very corrosive. Concentrated aerosol compounds (silica, asbestos and etc) may result in a number of diseases such as silicosis and black lung when exposed to it since it can severely irritate upper respiratory tracts. <br />Sodium hydroxide is a very strong base due to the hydroxide anion in its compound. This is considered to be a contaminant if too much sodium hydroxide were to be disposed in water. Sodium hydroxide’s primary effect would cause the water’s pH level to raise due to the hydroxyl ion (OH-). The effect of changing the pH level of the water may cause the disturbance of aquatic life forms within our oceans and lead to less efficient living conditions. In the extreme case, if the ocean became too basic it will produce carbonic acid, which will release even more hydrogen ions and making the ocean even more acidic. The increase of the acidity level of the ocean will cause marine life (such as clams, mussels and etc) to produce weaker shells and will not survive. Coral will also be affected since their skeletons are made of calcium carbonate. Since coral produces food and oxygen to the sea creatures, they are vital is our environment. If you all the coral were to die from lack of survivability, then the fish in our ocean will suffer and most likely die.<br />Although, sodium hydroxide helps to neutralise the soil by reacting with the acidic compounds (as shown in the neutralisation reaction in chemical, physical and structural properties of sodium hydroxide). <br />OH-(aq)+ H+(aq) -> H2O(l)<br />1.4 General Neutralisation Reaction<br />This allows specific plants to grow efficiently since any type of acid may be very bad to these specific plants; other plants prefer to grow in a more acidic soil. Sodium hydroxide does have an effect on the growth of plants in terrestrial environments depending upon the type of plant due to plants being the source of photosynthesis not only aquatic environments as well.<br />Sodium Hydroxide may have some use but this an orthodox theory that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be able to be reabsorbed by reacting sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) with carbon dioxide to produce sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Since sodium hydroxide is an alkali and carbon dioxide is an acid gas, the two of them will cancel each other and become neutral. A neutralisation reaction will occur.<br />NaOHs+ CO2(g)->NaHCO3(s)<br />1.2 Sodium hydroxide reacting with carbon dioxide<br />1.3 Sodium Bicarbonate<br />Bibliography<br />Internet<br />Climate Kids: quot;
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