Skip to main content
isocyanate

isocyanate

2 8.4
A chemical used to make plastics and foams that reacts quickly and can harm the lungs
  • noun
  • /ˌaɪsoʊˈsaɪəˌneɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : isocianato
  • The Use and Storage of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) at Bayer CropScience
  • methyl isocyanate
  • toxic isocyanate
  • release of isocyanate

Examples

  • The Use and Storage of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) at Bayer CropScience also evaluates the analyses on alternative production methods for MIC and carbamate.

    Blog text (8)
  • Authors: The Use of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) at Bayer CropScience; Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology; Division of Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council Authoring Organizations

    Blog text (8)
  • The use of hazardous chemicals such as methyl isocyanate can be a significant concern to the residents of communities adjacent to chemical facilities, but it is often an integral part of the chemical manufacturing process.

    Blog text (8)
  • Since foam-in-place chemicals (isocyanates) are also health hazards, these systems are not ideal for most clinical environments.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The Bhopal disaster occurred in December 1984 when a pesticide factory owned by the US multinational Union Carbide leaked toxic gas methyl isocyanate into the surrounding communities, killing an estimated 8,000 people.

    Academic text (2010)
  • When a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India, released a toxic pesticide, methyl isocyanate, on December 4, 1984, that killed 2,500 people and injured 200,000 others, it influenced the United States Congress to enact new legislation.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Methyl isocyanate is used to make pesticides.

  • Some manufacturers use polyurethane or isocyanate foam cores.

  • Concerns over toxic emissions mushroomed after the catastrophic release of methyl isocyanate gas from a Union Carbide plant.

Compounds

7.9

A bright green dye that attaches to antibodies to make proteins glow under a fluorescence microscope

Surface Forms

isocyanate singular
isocyanates plural

Morphology

isocyanate = cyanate (opaque) = iso + cyan + ate

The prefix 'iso-' has a specialized chemical meaning and 'cyanate' is a technical chemical term, so the overall meaning is not derivable by an average B1 learner from the parts.

Etymology

The word isocyanate comes from the parts iso- ('equal') and cyan ('blue'), the same cyan you know from the color cyan and the word cyanide. In chemistry the name points to a certain chemical group related to that cyan family, so isocyanates are reactive chemicals used to make plastics and foams.