There was an interesting thread on the rec.crafts.metalworking ng a few months
back
discussing the hazards of metal poisoning. The discussions included the effects
of
these metals on the human body, the permanence of these metals (ie: lead.
mercury
do not pass out of the body, zinc does), and the mechanisms by which these
metals
can be introduced into our bodies. For example, holding a galvanized pipe is
not a
hazard but welding one releases copious amounts of zinc fumes which are easily
inhaled . Lead in its elemental form (lead sheet for instance) was discussed
as
pretty safe, but berating lead fumes, or lead dust, or eating/ingesting lead
based
paint or lead dust is not good.
So it is not : "is lead good or bad?" or "is lead safe or deadly ?" (or zinc,
or
cadmium, or mercury, or asbestos, etc.) because the answers are both yes and
no.
It all depends on many different factors.
The point of all of this is that information on the true hazards of the things
that
we come into contact with is a good thing. I think that the concern expressed
about using old oil filters is a worthwhile "heads up". Some of the ways that
harmful substances enter our bodies is by absorption through the skin; and
introducing a potentially harmful material into a solvent which comes in
contact
with my skin is something that I would like to avoid. We all choose our risks,
the
more information that we have the better we are able to choose.
-Roger
..who is also still kicking after a lifetime of doing some pretty silly (but
usually interesting) things in his life but is always looking to take
reasonable
precautions so that I can continue to do fun things for decades and decades to
come.
Bob Hamilton wrote:
>
> Friends,
>
> I wonder how we all survived this lead scare stuff when it was only
>in the
> '70's
> that toothpaste still came in LEAD tubes and dentists used to give us
> liquid murcury to
> take home and play with on the kitchen table!
>
> Later,
> Bob
> (60+ and still kicking!)
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