Today marked our first day working with Mark Self, CEO of Vector Textiles. Vector Textiles is a company that creates chemical-free insect and bite resistant clothing and nets. We started off the day with a meeting where Mr. Self explained what are research topic is, which is to explain the environmental consequences of permethrin, a chemical used in mosquito repellent, in sub-Saharan Africa. Afterwards my groupmates and I held our own meeting where we drafted a plan for the following days, then we finished off the day with individual research. As I learned more about permethrin and some of its effects I realized how easy it can be for products containing harmful chemicals to contaminate the environment, and that once the chemical is in the environment it can easily be exposed to humans, plants, and animals. Therefore it is important that those types of products are carefully regulated.
