On Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:00:53 -0500, "Wild_Bill"
wrote:
Yep.. Lots of alarmist stuff filling the airwaves/media these days, in those
nasty microwaves and dangerous poison-laced paper products used for printed
materials.
Now that you mention it, most of the lead in the environment came from
the lead used in newsprint and magazine ink. It was finally banned by
the EPA in 1985. In the form of printed ink, it's easily leached by
acidic water and ends up in the water supplies.
Incidentally, the mercury bottle is made from extremely heavy glass.
My guess is about 1/4" thick. I could probably drop the bottle and it
wouldn't break. However, the thin plastic cap is a substitute. The
heavy duty original broke long ago and was replaced by an inferior
substitute.
I fill compelled to add a (personal view, based in reality) reminder/wakeup
that many of the materials considered to be extremely hazardous or
potentially deadly, began as materials that were definitely harmful to work
around for *years/decades* without proper personal protection.
I used to make PCB boards at a small electronics manufactory in the
1970's. Washing our hands with trichloroethylene was common. Of the
3 people that worked this way, two have experienced some form of liver
damage. I was the lucky one. I guess we learn from experience.
Dust control, fume extraction and other precautions were simply often
neglect of employers to properly protect workers from years of long term
exposure.
Yep. We learn from our mistakes (if we survive). The problem is with
the converse. If we have a history of successful and survivable
exposure and use of some product or chemical, there often emerges a
person or group advocating bans and regulations for dubious reasons.
Profitable litigation and settlements seems to be the current fashion.
Despite years of statistically significant data on exposure, one
marginal incident is sufficient to cast suspicion and possibly
precipitate a ban.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558