Is there any such thing as chemical-free? | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

When Joanna Wojnar sees a "chemical-free cosmetic" touted on television or tips for a "chemical-free home" on a website, it makes her groan a little. With a PhD in chemistry, Joanna believes the phrase "chemical-free", is nonsense, and her quiet outrage led her to write an award-winning essay.

Last week, Joanna won the non-fiction category of the Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing. Joanna's piece 100 per cent Chemical Free is about the misuse of the term, and it scooped her a $2500 prize.

The theme of the competition was Chemical World, chosen to coincide with the 2011 International Year of Chemistry. The Meadowbank resident says she stumbled upon the competition tab on the Royal Society's website.

"I thought, I can do chemistry, I know this stuff. And if you don't try you never win."

Encouraged by her brother to "do an angry rant", Joanna, a Meadowbank resident, realised it was easiest to write on what she was passionate about.

"It was quite fun to write as it's one of my pet peeves. The other one is the misuse of the word 'organic', but that's the topic of another article.

"The real problem is that a dichotomy has developed where natural is healthy and good, while anything manufactured is toxic and bad. Marketing companies pick up on this fear, and introduce terms like 'chemical-free' into their product description."

She says the whole world is made of chemicals and just because one is natural - as opposed to man-made - it doesn't mean it's any safer.

"I can go into the forest and pick a 100 per cent natural mushroom and eat it and die because it was toxic. But then you go into your kitchen and put some sodium hydrogen carbonate in your baking and there's no problem."

"It's not about natural it's about safe. We hear about the nasty chemical colourings that go in some foods, but the natural alternative to red colouring, carmine, is made from beetle shells and a percentage of people have a severe anaphylactic reaction to it."

She says consumers needn't fear chemicals but she believes those proven to cause harm should be banned from food, cosmetics and the like. "Cosmetics have gone wholeheartedly into the natural stuff but it should be tested to make sure it doesn't give people allergic reactions.

"Just telling me that it's an extract from a plant and will make my skin glow... well," she shudders. "You don't need to use the word 'natural'. What does that mean? Just say that it's safe and tested."

Competition judge writer Jo Randerson says the field of entries was strong. "The winning essay has the clearest and most interesting argument: that the terms 'natural' and 'chemical' have become unnecessarily polarised.

"It's a relevant and timely thesis to consider. It speaks to the world we are familiar with; it is a defender of chemistry. The writing is strongly voiced and conveys its points easily and convincingly."

Despite a brush with literary fame, Joanna is continuing with her work for Professor Margaret Brimble at the University of Auckland, making anti-freeze peptides in the lab as part of investigations into how the blood of the Antarctic notothenioid fish keeps from freezing in sub-zero water.

While it sounds very niche, the work could have implications for organ transplants, as the peptides may be able to extend the life of an organ awaiting transplantation.

Read Joanna's full essay.

About the prize
The Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing is an annual competition organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand in association with the New Zealand Listener magazine and the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, headed by Professor Bill Manhire.
 

HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMMENT BOX BELOW

Follow The Aucklander on Facebook and Twitter @aucklander_nz