Why is used motor oil so carcinogenic?
In: Chemistry
The heat and mechanical stress produces a huge variety of compounds, some of which might be a hazard. Oil doesn’t start out being good for you. Mix in some heavy metal atoms and there is lots of room for problems.
Partially burnt hydrocarbons are carcinogenic. Used motor oil collects a lot of partially burnt hydrocarbons generated by a car’s internal combustion engine, both from the fuel and from the oil itself.
Covering why partially burnt hydrocarbons are carcinogenic is a lot more complicated, but the short version is that they’re organic molecules that interact strongly and unpredictably with our biological processes. They’re less stable in their partially burnt state, and because they’re very ready to interact with other molecules, they can cause a lot of problems if it’s our cells that they react with.
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