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Chemical reactions (such as forming it into a pigment) greatly change the biological effects substances have. For example, you probably shouldn't drink OH- or
by tryptophan 6y ago
Chemical reactions (such as forming it into a pigment) greatly change the biological effects substances have.
For example, you probably shouldn't drink OH- or H2O2, even though it is made of the same atoms as water.
Just because the pure elemental form is toxic doesn't make compounds with it toxic as well.
- JohnJamesRambo 6y agoI don't think that is a very good example. A better example would be is there a safe compound with lead or arsenic or mercury (known toxic elements) you would want to take into your body?
- _Microft 6y agoWhat about Barium? Water-soluble barium compounds are toxic while the insoluble barium sulfate is used as radiocontrast agent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_sulfate#Radiocontrast_agent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_sulfate#Radiocontrast_a...
- voldacar 6y agoWell sulfates in general tend to be highly insoluble in water, and therefore biologically inert, so I think this is still kind of a cherry-picked example
- avianlyric 6y agoIsn’t cherry-picking kind of the point here?
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoMercury amalgam (silver, tin, zinc, copper, etc) fillings.
- londons_explore 6y agoThere is a strong correlation between incidence of mercury amalgam and alzheimer's. Obviously correlation is not causation, but I'd still be wary of putting mercury in my body...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- refurb 6y agoNo there isn’t a correlation. Maybe you are thinking aluminum? Even then the data is weak. Mercury salts are corrosive, organomercury compounds are highly neurotoxic and elemental mercury is relatively non-toxic if ingested. The form of the element matters a lot.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoI'd also add that elemental mercury is toxic if inhaled as a vapor. While I mentioned fillings as a safe use, there is a (very small) amount of vapor released when they're installed, and more gets released if they need to be removed. Not enough to matter in adults. If you needed enough fillings for it to be a concern the dental microbiota issues causing the decay would be a far bigger general health threat. Indeed, Alzheimer's is linked to gingivitis (gum disease) and the hypothesized link with amalgam fillings may be an artifact of people with worse gum disease having worse dental health, and thus more fillings.
- ryder9 6y ago[citation required]
- stjohnswarts 6y agoGonna need to see a source on that one. I've never seen it and I follow biology news quite a lot.
- conception 6y agoMercury? Of course. Tooth fillings.
- cromka 6y agoJust google "mercury amalgam cancer".
- TedDoesntTalk 6y agoI live in pride of my mercury-compound amalgam. You can choose to live in fear. "Numerous other organizations have also publicly declared the safety and effectiveness of amalgam. These include the Mayo clinic,[21] the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),[22] Health Canada,[23] Alzheimer's Association,[24] American Academy of Pediatrics,[25] Autism Society of America,[26] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,[27] National Multiple Sclerosis Society,[28] New England Journal of Medicine,[29] International Journal of Dentistry,[30] National Council Against Health Fraud,[31] The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research NIDCR,[32] American Cancer Society,[33] Lupus Foundation of America,[34] the American College of Medical Toxicology,[35] the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy
- spoonjim 6y agoI'm not deep in a hole "living in fear," I just got the resin and don't have to think about it anymore.
- TedDoesntTalk 6y agoThe resin fillings don’t last nearly as long. You’ll need a replacement down the road. I’m going on 40 years or so with my mercury filling.
- olyjohn 6y agoAccording to my dentist, the resin fillings are good for about 10 years. This matches with my experience of them falling out after about that long...
- ampdepolymerase 6y agoOrganic chemistry should probably be made mandatory as part of high school science education like physics. Parent looks like Exhibit A for anti-thiomersal hysteria.
- owenmarshall 6y ago>> lead or arsenic or mercury > Organic chemistry Heh.
- acidbaseextract 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylmercury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylmercury "Heh" is an obnoxious response, as if an organic chemistry class wouldn't teach the basics of organometallics and some of the things that make compounds more or less dangerous.
- ampdepolymerase 6y agoCorrect. One reaction involving mercury would be Oxymercuration, a process that is usually covered in Organic Chemistry 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymercuration_reaction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymercuration_reaction
- Scea91 6y agoIt is not? I had at least 2 years of organic chemistry at high school (Czechia).
- hobofan 6y agoIn Germany it's 1 year of the final 2 year Chemistry elective, where most people instead choose Biology or Physics (and I think if you are on a language focused path you might not even have to do one of them).
- dividedbyzero 6y ago
- thereare5lights 6y ago> A better example would be is there a safe compound with lead or arsenic or mercury (known toxic elements) you would want to take into your body? Dental amalgam
- fortran77 6y agoThere's a safe compound with sodium and chlorine that I eat every day.
- ReptileMan 6y agoThey are not toxic though - they are just so reactive that they corrode tissue.
- 2muchcoffeeman 6y agoWhy does that matter? The point is you can combine elements and create compounds that are drastically different to the components with different properties. Obvious one is water. H - explody. O2 - burny. H2O - puts out fires, quenches your thirst, no longer a gas, not very reactive.
- namibj 6y agoBecause corrosive is way different than toxic. Particularly, acid/base corrosion can and will be neutralized by our body once sufficiently diluted. Toxic compounds, especially heavy metals, stay toxic even if diluted.
- 2muchcoffeeman 6y agoAgain, so what? The point being made is that you can take dangerous elements and then create a compound that doesn’t share the properties of the elements. So a counter argument is to show that’s not true for the elements that make up the compound for this blue dye.
- namibj 6y agoThe point is, that making corrosive properties go away is easy and very typical, whereas toxic properties often have a habit of not going away after it enters the body. Most corrosive substances release their effects on the surface they contact you, but toxic effects, especially the problematic ones, are way deeper. The distinction is fairly important, especially regarding heavy metals. Like hydrofluoric acid, for example. It's fairly easy to not notice you spilled some on your hand/arm until after it soaked through your skin, upon which the issue is systemic toxicity or at least bone damage. In contrast, sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids at any concentration up to azeotropic just cause burns and, for sulfuric acid, dehydration. There are no acute systemic risks from all but large-area burns, and even then it's mostly due to fluid loss which can be compensated for. (Yes, there are later risks due to loss-of-skin and skin graft surgery, but none of those complications try to have you pronounced dead you within a few hours of the spill.)
- onei 6y agoThimerosal is a mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccinations [1]. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiomersal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiomersal
- hyperpallium2 6y agoSodium and Chlorine are both pretty nasty.
- OJFord 6y agoWhy does it need to be safe to 'take into your body'? I'm not going to drink lead paint or the turpentine used to clean brushes either.
- mathgeek 6y agoLikely for the same reason we rarely use lead paint anymore, or why micro plastics are a concern in bath products. Just for a couple of examples of products you don’t consume ending up in animal bodies.
- chrisbennet 6y agoYes, tooth fillings. "Dental amalgam is a mixture of metals, consisting of liquid (elemental) mercury and a powdered alloy composed of silver, tin, and copper. Approximately half (50%) of dental amalgam is elemental mercury by weight. The chemical properties of elemental mercury allow it to react with and bind together the silver/copper/tin alloy particles to form an amalgam." https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/dental-devices/dental-amalgam-fillings#:~:text=Dental%20amalgam%20is%20a%20dental,is%20elemental%20mercury%20by%20weight https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/dental-devices/dental-am....
- esperent 6y agoAmalgam fillings do offgas tiny amounts of mercury. Of course, this is a controversial topic and there's a lot of misinformation around, so do your own research. Personally, I came to the conclusion that the one amalgam filling I have is ok but too many would cause potentially toxic buildup over a lifetime so I'll never get another.
- jasonhansel 6y agoYes. As one example, arsenobetaine is an arsenic-containing compound that is naturally present in almost all fish that we consume. It is entirely harmless to humans in normal amounts, since we don't metabolize it into ordinary arsenic.
- MrStonedOne 6y agoSodium if ingested would very quickly kill you if the massive explosions in your mouth didn't hinder the ability to ingest it. Chloride is also deadly in high enough concentrations (or rather, in non-trace concentrations), but we also use low amounts of it in pool cleaners. Mix the two and you get salt.