Rayon (which is also referred to as artificial silk or viscose) is the semi-synthetic fiber that is obtained in the process of chemically converting the purified cellulose into a compound. The first mentions of rayon’s prototypes appeared in the 1850s, but those were only experiments which were not considered as something valuable and were performed out of curiosity.
The invention of rayon itself took place at the beginning of the XX century (however, it was called artificial silk until 1925 when the term “rayon” was invented by borrowing a word from French). Wood pulp (or cellulose) was used as the basis of production. Firstly, it was dissolved in the bath full of caustic soda, then it was mixed with carbon disulfide, and later sulfuric acid was added, which finally created the fiber. This is the standard scheme of processing the rayon.
Those chemicals that were mentioned – carbon disulfide, caustic soda, and sulfuric acid – are all extremely dangerous to the human health. Since the beginning of the rayon industry, the workers who were involved in manufacturing the artificial silk, suffered severely from the chemicals’ impact on their health. Carbon disulfide was bubbling out of the baths to the atmosphere, which caused many workers to lose their sight; many of them claimed to have different kinds of skin erosion. The central nervous system was immensely suffering from chemicals’ effect, and, moreover, Parkinson’s disease was caused by it. Many people experienced the loss of memory and spatial orientation; some of them obtained the state of dementia. Even though the first known records of such severe intoxications were made in 1904, it was not until 1938 that the medical research on rayon’s toxicity was published. There is an explanation of such hiatus: the artificial silk industry was growing continuously and prospering even in the period of Great Depression. The market was in full control of only two companies, which could be called the duopoly. This growth took place not just in America, but also across the world, most notably in Europe.
Even though in the process of manufacturing the rayon workers are exposed to numerous dangerous chemicals, the final product consists of almost pure cellulose, therefore the customers would not experience any of the hazardous effects. Viscose’s biodegradability is even higher than cotton’s, which makes rayon not such a dangerous product for the environment. However, it takes time to recycle rayon in the natural circumstances. The first half of the XX century was designated by the relatively high environmental impact of rayon processing because the waste disposal was not always adequately considered. However, in the course of time, the pollution awareness was spread among the developed countries, and the level of waste disposal was reduced.
Speaking of the current state of the viscose industry, one could notice that the impact on the human health and the environment was reduced substantially. The factories that manufacture viscose are designed and equipped to protect the workers’ health in the best possible way. People are no longer exposed to the hazardous chemicals in the atmosphere of factories, and erosive materials are not even close to workers’ skin. Pollution and waste disposal are also reduced. However, the problem is that everything that was mentioned is correct only about the European and American plants. The viscose industries in China, India, and Indonesia are not explored. Therefore their impact on the environment and the working conditions are unknown.