RadioBanter - View Single Post

April 13th 04, 07:35 AM

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 03:24:58 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:
You said:

"There is NO MINIMUM EXPOSURE LEVEL to Mercury. No matter how little,
it has some debilitating effect that is measurable."

As the author of my own words, I am well aware of what I said.

What is the "debilitating effect that is measurable" of exposure to 1 atom
of mercury? How about 2 atoms of mercury? Three?

According to the the ATSDR:

"The EPA has set a limit of 2 parts of mercury per billion parts of drinking
water (2 ppb).

Do you limit your glass of water to 2 billion atoms of H2O? Asking
about atoms in the face of living a real life is absurd and mocks the
real dangers.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a maximum permissible level
of 1 part of methylmercury in a million parts of seafood (1 ppm).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set limits of
0.1 milligram of organic mercury per cubic meter of workplace air (0.1 mg/m?)
and 0.05 mg/m? of metallic mercury vapor for 8-hour shifts and 40-hour work
weeks."

Looks to me like there are at least three entities other than Battelle
Centers for Public Health Research & Evaluation that found minimum levels.

The EPA has also allowed for risks that endanger life in Asbestos. It
is a ongoing tragedy in Idaho currently. Ask them if they believe in
the current administration's track record. Using watered down,
industry leveraged numbers to cross-correlate to safety is fine if you
want to die your life that way.

However, back to Mercury. The current science eclipses all these
"standards" you quote. It is a matter of degree. The standards offer
that your IQ may slip 10 points at their levels - the question is do
you shrug off better practices that merely reduce it 5 points, or is
below the "standard" threshold suddenly no loss whatever? Clue: it is
a continuum, there is no safe level of exposure. If you feel fine
shaving half a point, sobeit. If it amounts to 0.05 point, bake a
cake and have a party. Offer guarantees of no loss whatever below
current "standards" and you will buy the farm in liability.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC