Synthetic organic chemicals, or SOCs, are man-made molecules constructed around the element carbon.
One thing about them is that they do not naturally exist. Instead, they are made in factories and laboratories for a specific function.
From our clothing to the cleaners we use, SOCs already reside in our daily lives, whether we acknowledge them or not.
The issue is that none of us is even aware of how frequently we are exposed to them.
They can find their way into our food, our homes, and even the water we drink.
Sure, some are harmless in small quantities. However, we must still be cautious because others can cause significant harm to our health and the environment.
That is why it is beneficial to have some understanding of where SOCs are found in daily life.
In this article, we will guide you through the most common examples and explain how they affect humans and the environment.
We'll also discuss some tips on how to reduce exposure.
We will also briefly cover how water filters, such as the Berkey, can be used to reduce them in drinking water.
Synthetic Organic Chemicals
IFOAM Organics Europe. (2025, June 23). Synthetic or natural textiles? IFOAM Organics Europe releases a new comparative infographic [Infographic]. IFOAM Organics Europe. https://www.organicseurope.bio/news/synthetic-or-natural-textiles-ifoam-organics-europe-releases-a-new-comparative-infographic/
Synthetic organic chemicals are organic compounds created by humans.
They are produced through chemical reactions in laboratories or plants.
Sometimes, they're made to imitate what occurs in nature. And yes, they're also totally synthetic.
They are part of a broader category of synthetic organic compounds that contain a range of substances essential for modern life.
Common types are polymers, plasticizers, solvents, pesticides, and even medicines.
Natural organic substances, such as ethanol or insulin, exist in living organisms. However, they can also be produced by scientists. That is a very important distinction.
Nature produces its own organic chemicals, whereas synthetic ones are created by humans.
They may appear identical at the molecular level, but their origin and function distinguish them.
Synthetic organic chemicals permeate everything since they are designed with a specific purpose.
Some are made to withstand heat. Some to flex without shattering. And a lot to stay in one piece for weeks or more.
It is this staying power that leads them to appear in packaging, manufacturing processes, and domestic commodities.
The Environmental Protection Agency has investigated the environmental fate and risk to humans since widespread application implies universal exposure.
Regardless of whether in farm fields, surface soils, sludge from sewage, or wastewater effluent discharges, these chemicals tend to appear where we least expect them.
Knowing them will help us better understand the ways we can safeguard ourselves and our families from exposure to SOCs.
Common Examples of SOCs
• Fibers and Plastics
Plastics are the normal answer when one is asked to give some examples of synthetic organic compounds.
Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, polystyrene, nylon, and Teflon are a few of them.
They are soluble in water in some forms, but are so rigid.
This makes them extremely easy to utilize in bottles, food packaging, cloth material, tableware, and domestic appliances. In your house alone, there are numerous plastic-made materials.
Their wide use also entails disposal and pollution problems, especially in landfills, where they leach mainly into groundwater and soil.
• Phthalates and Plasticizers
Plasticizers are additives that make plastics more flexible.
One instance is DEHP, which softens the PVC used in tubing and packaging.
Experimental findings have demonstrated that these items can have a significant impact on human health. Like reproductive failure and liver damage, to name a few.
The International Agency has also assigned a likely carcinogen status to some of the chemicals for research on cancer.
They are also likely to inflict acne-like cutaneous diseases and other sicknesses in infected individuals upon contact with them. Anyone (and I mean anyone, no one is exempt) can get infected simply by being present in contaminated food or another source.
Since they have the potential to leach into the environment from plastics, their risk and toxicity are always studied, observed, and investigated by the EPA.
• PFAS or Forever Chemicals
These substances are synthetic organic chemicals that are resistant to heat and water.
They show up in waterproof rain pants and parkas, non-stick skillets, cosmetics, and food packaging.
The problem is what they do to the environment.
Firstly, PFAS are not biodegradable.
This is a significant problem because they will continue to persist and accumulate in the bottom sediments, surface soil, and groundwater.
Purified water has been discovered downstream of plants and wastewater treatment facilities.
They are eliminated from the body after a few weeks or days.
Because of this, scientists attribute to them diseases of the system's immunity, congenital malformations, and behavioral pathology.
• Solvents and Industrial Chemicals
Trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene are commonly used solvents in degreasing and dry cleaning processes.
They are volatile organic solvents that migrate through improper disposal, wastewater, or spillage.
They are environmentally toxic, as they can contaminate groundwater and pose a risk to human health through inhalation exposure or ingestion of contaminated drinking water.
Environmental Protection Agency studies link them to such unwanted health effects as liver toxicity and cancer hazard.
• Pesticides
Herbicides and pesticides are used in crop plots to control weeds and pests.
Atrazine is extensively applied as a herbicide that is retained in the lower sediment of the soil.
DDT, chlordane, and dieldrin are old chemicals that are chlorinated hydrocarbons used extensively worldwide.
They are now classified as hazardous organic pollutants because they can harm the environment and introduce toxicity to the surrounding areas.
And honestly, it’s kind of scary to think these chemicals still linger even if we don’t “see” them anymore. Even after prohibition, residues persist in surface soils and in contaminated foods.
Hazard assessment has the potential for cancer linkages, reproductive damage, and other toxic effects. Like, it’s wild that something sprayed decades ago could still end up in the food you eat today.
• Personal Care Product Chemicals
Deodorants, shampoos, and lotions often contain parabens, triclosan, phthalates, and fragrances in their formulations.
They are synthetic organic chemicals that enter wastewater through showering and sewage treatment plants that don't have the ability to remove them.
Essentially, every time you take a shower, a small amount of the extra ingredients in your shampoo goes down the drain.
They then find their way into rivers and impact water animals.
Through exposure to additives, they create health issues that vary from hormonal disruption to reproductive incapacitation.
• Clothing Fabrics and Embedded SOCs
Synthetic fabrics such as spandex, polyester, and nylon emit phthalates, flame retardants, and bisphenols.
During a human being's physical activity, fragments of these chemicals are deposited on the body.
They were found to be linked to diseases such as skin disorders, endocrine disruption, and other health issues.
Televisions and electrical appliances, for instance, contained polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as Aroclor, which also contaminated clothing and household dust.
PCBs that polluted Housatonic River sediments were long-term contaminants and health hazards.
These are all indications of how synthetic organic chemicals are not only limited to plants but also permeate every aspect of life.
You don’t even have to be in a lab coat to “deal” with chemicals. They're in your closet, bathroom, and even the air around you. That's what makes them so dangerous.
How Do SOCs Affect Us?
Synthetic organic chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health effects. We've already been over this.
Endocrine Disruption
Endocrine disruption is the most significant concern.
Chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenol A, and certain PFAS can impact hormones.
This can result in faulty reproduction, birth defects, and even behavioral issues in children.
It’s wild how even the smallest drops from your shampoo could mess with something as big as your hormones. Honestly, I can't even begin to comprehend that.
Some studies show people can develop acne-like skin conditions or other signs after even short periods of exposure, which can persist for weeks.
So, what might happen if you get exposed for a long time?
Carcinogenic Chemicals
Carcinogenic chemicals induce the second major threat.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has studied some plasticizers, PBDE flame retardants, and perfluorinated chemicals.
The results show that these chemicals can really trigger cancer risk, as well as liver damage and immune system damage. That's a pretty huge risk!
We're referring to substances that have been present in couches, clothing, and packaging for years. And we are all just oblivious to them.
Bioaccumulation enhances the danger.
When chemicals are stored in human tissue, rotten food, or wildlife, the exposure does not disappear.
Large volumes have been detected in groundwater, surface soils, and even sediments far from the point of manufacture.
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to study the environmental fate of the chemicals.
Many are not water-soluble, in that they bind to soil or sewage sludge and migrate slowly through the environment.
Others are volatile organic compounds that evaporate through wastewater effluents and spills. Once they breach farm fields, landfills, or rivers, they become hard to eradicate.
Practical Measures Against SOCs
The good news is that people can do a variety of things to reduce their own exposure to synthetic organic chemicals.
What To Wear Instead
One of them is what people wear.
Wearing natural fibers like cotton, hemp, or merino wool reduces the level of chemical absorption through the skin from synthetic exercise wear.
Even switching out your workout shirts will make a huge difference. Yes, it's that simple!
Making that one change reduces the risk of skin illness or endocrine disruption from synthetic wear.
Switch Packaging
Plastic packaging in everyday usage is another.
Stainless steel and glass are preferable since they don't contaminate water or food with other chemicals.
I know it feels “extra” to carry a glass water bottle. But seriously? At least you know you’re not sipping on microplastics every day.
Replacing these will lower health problems, such as plasticizers and volatile organic compounds.
What Products To Buy
Personal care products must also be under the spotlight.
Paraben- and fragrance-free products minimize the quantity of artificial organic chemicals that can enter wastewater and contaminate the environment.
Reading labels attentively and scrutinizing ingredients is one easy measure towards making better decisions.
Those little “paraben-free” or “GOTS certified” labels do make life easier.
OEKO-TEX or GOTS certified products allow people to determine whether products and materials are safer.
No To PFAS
Staying away from PFAS-treated packaging is also a good habit.
Wrappers and food packaging are examples that are oil- or water-proof but are also toxic to the environment and human health.
Using PFAS-free packaging minimizes contaminants to a level that otherwise would contaminate groundwater or soil.
★ In addition to personal action, campaigning is required.
Compelling companies to implement cleaner production and disposal lowers the rates of toxic chemicals in the environment.
Facilitating higher policies on the part of the EPA or international regulators translates into the discontinuation of the mass use of toxic substances.
Through knowledge and awareness of doing what is right, exposure can be kept low, and the environment and health can remain intact.
How Water Filtration Helps
Arguably, the simplest path by which synthetic organic chemicals enter the human body is through drinking water.
Farming land, industrial discharges of wastewater, and trash dumps all have the potential to leach contaminants into water supplies.
Even pesticides, volatile organic chemicals, and polychlorinated biphenyls have contaminated supplies around factories.
And the strange part is, the water still looks crystal clear.
Once contaminants have entered the system, conventional treatment plants cannot eliminate them, and infrastructure is installed for filtration in many homes.
Berkey systems are designed with activated carbon and ion exchange units that specifically target these chemicals.
Independent laboratory testing reports reductions of phthalates, bisphenol A, trihalomethanes, and even endocrine disruptors.
And yes, even those “forever chemicals” like PFOS and PFOA have been shown to drop significantly.
Testing has also shown the removal of PFOS and PFOA, two of the most concerning forever chemicals.
Because these chemicals have been linked to liver damage, reproductive problems, and immune system maladies, their removal from water reduces actual health threats.
Filtration is not only a health issue but also a long-term safety concern.
It’s about reducing the slow accumulation of toxins that can accumulate in the body over time.
By removing volatile organic compounds and other chemicals before they enter the body, filtration limits the buildup of contaminants that can create bioaccumulation.
It also provides people with peace of mind who have been exposed to water from surface soils or sediments near industrial activity.
While no filter can eliminate all possible compounds, having a system is one more safety precaution.
For anyone looking for examples of synthetic organic chemicals, the list often includes impurities that enter water.
That makes filtration an effective and practical step in everyday life.
Take A Look At This!
If you're a parent, this scenario is likely familiar to you.
You prepare juice boxes for the children in the morning. And while it seems harmless, those boxes often contain preservatives or linings with synthetic chemicals.
Meanwhile, as a parent, you put on synthetic workout apparel made from polyester and spandex.
During exercise, sweat can cause chemicals in the wardrobe to penetrate the body.
Sweat combined with synthetic fabric means chemicals can actually pass through to the skin. This is more of a disaster than you think!
In the evening, it is consumed by the family.
Without the filter, that water can include volatile organic compounds or pesticide residues from the fields.
And no one can taste or smell it; it literally just looks like ordinary water.
In the afternoon, you apply body lotion, paraben-free deodorant, and a scented deodorant.
These types of organic chemicals are rinsed off in the shower, channeled through wastewater discharges, and discharged into rivers.
It is quantified in some communities to levels in drinking water when PCBs released from retired electric systems pollute sediments.
One product on its own doesn’t sound too bad. Together, however, the exposure mounts.
The very problem is when you stack them all together.
More and more, this can contribute to health issues such as disrupted reproduction, liver toxicity, or disruption of the immune system.
The Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies have also found that mass exposure to these chemicals harms both people and the environment.
And then consider small changes.
As parents, we can turn to natural fibers such as cotton for physical activity, select personal care products that are paraben-free, and add a water filter, like the Berkey, to reduce contaminants in our drinking water.
These measures do not remove all danger, but they decrease the combined risks. Baby steps, if you will.
SOCS Everywhere
Synthetic organic compounds really are everywhere.
Plastic and PFAS, plasticizers, solvents, pesticides, and cosmetics surround life in the modern world.
And the frustrating part is, they hang around for decades.
They accumulate in soils, sediments, water, and even food, along with pollutants.
And the amusing part is that they all end up in areas so distant from where they were initially used.
Their impacts on human health vary from endocrine disruption to potential carcinogenicity, liver damage, and immunosuppression. And it's not even a “maybe,” anymore, it’s proven enough to take seriously.
They are studied by the Environmental Protection Agency and others. One thing they all firmly established is that they pose a long-term danger to individuals exposed to them.
However, as discussed in this article, we have some straightforward, practical actions to combat them.
Using natural fibers instead of synthetics, making safer personal care products, and incorporating water filtration all reduce the presence of toxins.
Products such as Berkey provide a two-layer approach by removing the impurities from drinking water.
By educating themselves and making small changes in their habits, individuals can limit their exposure, protect their loved ones, and contribute to making the world a healthier place.
At the end of the day, it’s not about being perfect; it’s literally just about making better choices where you can.
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