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> > I’m pretty sure take one lead molecule per day would not cause any detectable harm [..] even 1 additional nanogram likely too > "You're pretty sure" isn't u
by logifail 2y ago
> > I’m pretty sure take one lead molecule per day would not cause any detectable harm [..] even 1 additional nanogram likely too
> "You're pretty sure" isn't unfortunately scientifically admissible evidence
From those two comments I feel obliged* to point out that one atom of lead - or indeed one atom of any element - is really a very, very, very small quantity...
A quick refresh on just how many atoms an element there are in one gram of that element might be in order.
> There is no known safe dosage of lead
I'd happily ingest a lead atom if you can prepare one for me.
Q: Is there a safe known dosage of ionizing radiation? I ask because I'm flying later today...
[* full disclosure, Chemistry PhD]
- margalabargala 2y agoYes, I'm familiar with exactly how small an atom is. Identifying a single lead atom, and measuring harm caused by ingesting a single lead atom, are beyond the capability of our tools at the moment. You can form a hypothesis that one atom would cause no harm, I can form one otherwise, but until we're able to quantify that then these are just hypotheses. Among lead levels we are able to detect and measure the quantity of, there's no known safe level. And there very well may be points below which the harm caused, is so small that it's some people consider it an acceptable risk, as with your airplane and radiation example.
- citrin_ru 2y agoMy point was that ‘no known safe level’ is not the same as ‘no safe level’. And it is not known because it is both hard to detect negative impact of small doses and because no one would spend money on such work when there are many more important problems.