5 ms·
Yeah I wouldn't even want nitrile gloves on with the stuff. It is worth explaining just what is wrong with it. Mercury of course is a toxic compound, but kids
by crdrost 5y ago
Yeah I wouldn't even want nitrile gloves on with the stuff.
It is worth explaining just what is wrong with it. Mercury of course is a toxic compound, but kids used to crack mercury thermometers in their mouths and suffer no consequences. Pressure gauges came with exposed tubs of mercury and you would get some on your hands and it was fine, even kind of fun to play around with. Felters famously felt symptoms after careers of using it, usually blamed on long term inhalation, but it required a long time and lots of exposure to get to that point. Many people received dental amalgams with mercury bases and while there has always been a conspiracy theory about it, it has never been acutely toxic enough to be mainstream—the shift to other composites has instead been driven by comfort (metal fillings conduct heat and cold at an unnatural rate) and aesthetics (the new composites are white instead of silvery).
The basic reason is that the body does not eat metal and does not know what to do with it largely. Even with the metals that the body uses, like cobalt, it wraps every atom of cobalt in a big old ring of carbon and that's Vitamin B12.
Dimethyl mercury, is different from normal mercury, in a similar way. The methyl groups are organic groups that your body is much more willing to absorb and process. So the latex is not protecting you nearly as much because latex is this organic natural filter that lets things through... But also your skin is not protecting you because this stuff can seep into your skin via those methyl groups, your cells are just like “oh you look interesting I can take you into my chemistry.”
So yeah, milligrams are all it takes, tiny trace amounts: but the reason that you don't think of it being quite that dangerous is that your exposure to the liquid metal version is an exposure to a form that your body is uniquely unsuited to process or absorb. Water off a duck's back. Even though the water contains neurotoxin, it just rolls right off. Even, in our case, when ingested. But add these little methyl groups, methylmercury and dimethylmercury and really any organic mercury molecule, it gets real bad real fast because it's no longer rolling off our backs, it's soaking into our feathers.
- phkahler 5y agoSo what is the mercury compound they put in multi-dose vaccines? EDIT: Thiomersal, and it looks pretty organic. I've read that it leaves the bloodstream quickly, but not seen solid evidence that its leaving the body.
- an1sotropy 5y agofrom: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.... "Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury, and is therefore less likely to cause any harm."
- Karellen 5y agoThey used to put thimerosal in a bunch more vaccines. Until the clamour of anti-vaxxers who insisted that the rise in childhood autism cases was a direct cause of it (despite no evidence to back the claim) got so loud that they stopped using it in childhood vaccines in 2001. And childhood autism rates continued to rise unaffected by the change, proving (again) that this was due to some other factor (more sensitive diagnosis being the most popular theory) and also that the anti-vaxxers were full of shit and had no idea what they were talking about.
- elevaet 5y agoI know we're not supposed to discuss downvotes, but can't help but be curious why parent was downvoted? Factual errors? Cuss words? No references? Disagreement in opinion? It would be more interesting if they left a comment.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- CoastalCoder 5y agoI'm speculating, but maybe it seemed like an unnecessary / unconstructive rant as against a group.
- Xeoncross 5y agoThiomersal/Thimerosal leaves the bloodstream more quickly - but that is a relative term. Like you said, I've not seen not seen solid evidence that its leaving the body - but even then the best guesstimates are still half a year in the body instead of a full year or more like methylmercury. It can also cross into the brain if my memory serves me correctly. Thimerosal may not be deadly, but is certainty to be avoided if possible.
- DaveExeter 5y agoWhen I was a kid I would take the mercury from tilt-switches and pour it from hand to hand. So heavy and shiny!
- lmilcin 5y agoTo the author of dead sibling comment: please, notify authorities for proper disposal and cleanup. Mercury contamination is extremely dangerous and can cause problems to your or other families for generations. While small balls of Mercury might not seem dangerous, their continued presence means Mercury will slowly seep into environment over years and decades.
- daverol 5y agoQuite: see for example https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12817450-800-the-mercury-the-physicists-left-behind/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12817450-800-the-merc... for an example of the effects of mercury contamination in a building used for Physics research in Cambridge UK
- madengr 5y ago
- aligray 5y agoThank you very much for taking the time to write such a fascinating comment!
- jbkiv 5y agoThank you for your explanation.
- kragen 5y agoFelters were mad from exposure to mercuric nitrate, not metallic mercury: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt#Carroting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt#Carroting Metallic mercury can poison you if you inhale enough of it, yes, but that wasn't what the felters were suffering.