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On point 4: As a scientist who normally chafes at those prohibitions, I'll point out that responsibility for the consequences of ones' research is also importan
by ISL 5y ago
On point 4: As a scientist who normally chafes at those prohibitions, I'll point out that responsibility for the consequences of ones' research is also important.
For example, it is extremely easy, with both household and scientific chemicals/tools, to create a hazardous waste problem that is a problem for neighbors or a community. I imagine it could be the same for some biological experiments. One of the key advantages of garage experimentation is the freedom from the strictures of a laboratory, but one cannot lose sight of the impacts on others.
- kragen 5y agoI agree! Also, aside from hazardous waste, it would be easy to accidentally create a small-scale version of the PEPCON disaster, the Bhopal disaster, the Enschede disaster, the defoliation surrounding early alkali plants (from HCl emissions), or just a public nuisance. I think there are a couple of things we can do to improve this situation: 1. Create an environment without fear of repercussions for hazardous waste training and services. In much of the world today if you show up at a hazardous waste collection site with 50 kg of poorly characterized organic molecules dissolved in acetone, you can expect an investigation of whether you're running a meth lab. 2. Scale down the hazardous waste regulations to something realistic. A return to Victorian-era nonchalance about things like lead acetate and mercuric chloride would be counterproductive, but we've somehow gotten to a point where people call in hazardous waste teams if they break a mercury thermometer, which is totally out of proportion to the actual risk from metallic mercury, and I've literally seen a news report about sulfur spills where adult anchors who presumably went to college solemnly warn that sulfur is very toxic and can cause severe skin burns. Due to totally implausible concerns about toxicity, borax has been prohibited for most uses (fertilizer, flame retardancy, etc.) in the EU now, though it fortunately remains available in pharmacies. And I already mentioned California's restrictions on aromatic solvents on the absurd pretext of "air quality". 3. For chemistry in particular, focus on developing microfluidics and miniaturized apparatus, because a nanoliter of pyridine is much less of a nuisance than a liter.
- mdp2021 5y agoCertainly we can join the calls for both common sense and careful awareness, but with relevance to both the Darwin Award to that science teacher that beheaded herself by throwing substances in a manhole is a warning about possible miscalculations, behaviours and events. https://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2008-06.html https://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2008-06.html
- kragen 5y agoOops. Ethers can be scary!