Safety Concerns
As sucrose is commonly used in foods, it is not a hazardous chemical, but as with anything must be treated with caution in a lab experiment. It has no WHIMIS or HHPS safety warning symbols, but may be very slightly corrosive, and be slightly flammable, but as these risks are so insignificant sucrose does not have any chemical warning on the packaging. Sucrose is not advised to have any protective gear worn while handling, but it is my opinion that wearing eye protection would be a good practise as it is in any lab. The chemical may be irritating if on skin but minimally, will cause irritation if gotten in eyes, and may cause cough or irritation if inhaled. It is recommended to wash any irritated skin after handling, immediately use eye wash station if gotten in eyes for 15 minutes, and to simply breathe fresh air if inhaled. If any of the symptoms last it is recommended to see a doctor. This can be easily avoided by practising common lab safety techniques ("Properties" screen 2).
An additional concern while handling or storing sucrose, is to monitor or otherwise prevent any contact between the chemical and an acid, or oxidizing agent. If contacts certain acids (sulphuric acid), the reaction will cause a exothermic reaction which will cause which poses potential danger. If sucrose is stored near an oxidizing agent it may be a fire hazard, as sucrose is flammable the oxidizing agent will help the sucrose to ignite if heat is present. This can be easily avoided by ensuring sucrose is not stored near any acids or oxidizing agents ("Properties" screen 3).
Overall sucrose is not a dangerous chemical, yet should be respected and treated with caution , not necessarily as a preventative method but as a good practise for future labs.
An additional concern while handling or storing sucrose, is to monitor or otherwise prevent any contact between the chemical and an acid, or oxidizing agent. If contacts certain acids (sulphuric acid), the reaction will cause a exothermic reaction which will cause which poses potential danger. If sucrose is stored near an oxidizing agent it may be a fire hazard, as sucrose is flammable the oxidizing agent will help the sucrose to ignite if heat is present. This can be easily avoided by ensuring sucrose is not stored near any acids or oxidizing agents ("Properties" screen 3).
Overall sucrose is not a dangerous chemical, yet should be respected and treated with caution , not necessarily as a preventative method but as a good practise for future labs.
Environmental Concerns
The primary environmental concerns of harvesting and producing sucrose is very similar to environmental concerns of any other agricultural crop. The most significant concern is that of soil runoff and other pollutants coming from pesticides that may be used. With sugar cane and sugar beet such a largely cultivated crop globally, the pesticides and additional nitrogen added to the soil can be easily washed away as runoff and pollute any surrounding areas. This can lead to harm to the surrounding environment and reduction of certain plants in the area that are killed using pesticides as they are deemed invasive to the sucrose plants and killed for increased production of sugar cane and beets. Additionally, certain pesticides used to kill insects that feed on the sugar plants may be used which can significantly decrease the amount of that insect in the general area ("Hydrology Is Key" screen 1-2).
Nitrogen is a critical nutrient for crop growth, and large amounts—from both commercial fertilizer and livestock manures are applied to agricultural lands to increase crop quality and productivity. However, when more nitrogen is supplied than crops can utilize, surplus nitrogen—often in the form of nitrate—is transported to groundwater and streams. Excessive nitrate in drinking water poses a risk to human health and in streams can stimulate excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants. Besides the nuisance these plants can pose, decay of the increased organic matter consumes available oxygen in the water and leads to low-oxygen conditions that threaten aquatic life. The harmful effects of nutrient enrichment can be carried downstream and are now known to be affecting a considerable portion of the Nation's fresh-water resources (Dodds and others, 2009) and coastal zones, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico ("Hydrology Is Key" screen 4).
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Another environmental concern of producing sucrose is that many farms (unless organic or GMO free) genetically modify the crops to increase the yield of sucrose per plant, in addition they may use using clones of an individual plant that produces the most yield. This using of clones of an individual is called a monoculture and causes reduction of genetic diversity of sugar plants, this reduces the crops resistance to disease as simple as a simple virus that would only kill some individuals of a field of diverse genetics, but will kill all of or most of the crop of a monoculture, and with so many monocultures may hinder the sugar plants success as a species ("Major Findings" screen 1).
The final significant environmental concern of harvesting sucrose in bulk is that an additional optionall step in the process of sugar cane is to start a very brief brush fire in the field to eliminate any foreign plants that are ground cover to make the harvesting easier. This has potential to be very harmful to the environment as although it is not used by all producers, and is often very controlled, the fire can easily get out of hand causing a forrest fire. A fire that can quickly spread to eliminate an entire ecosystem. Although this step is avoidable it takes only one mistake for a forrest fire to occur that can cause an extremely harmful and sometimes fatal hindrance to the ecosystem ("Major Findings" screen 2).
The final significant environmental concern of harvesting sucrose in bulk is that an additional optionall step in the process of sugar cane is to start a very brief brush fire in the field to eliminate any foreign plants that are ground cover to make the harvesting easier. This has potential to be very harmful to the environment as although it is not used by all producers, and is often very controlled, the fire can easily get out of hand causing a forrest fire. A fire that can quickly spread to eliminate an entire ecosystem. Although this step is avoidable it takes only one mistake for a forrest fire to occur that can cause an extremely harmful and sometimes fatal hindrance to the ecosystem ("Major Findings" screen 2).