[QRP] Re: [QRP-L] Hg Exposure: a plea...

[seabury lyon]

I see this as a QRP related issue at core and I'd like to submit a  
plea for caution.
.
It's way too difficult, even in such informed circles as ours, to  
make the case for caution regarding a broad spectrum of health &  
safety concerns. One big reason is the equally broad spectrum of hair- 
trigger ridicule/humor/disinterest that seems to well up in response.  
Some of that is deserved perhaps but prudence demands caution when  
considering these issues. We were born with brains after all and have  
learned much, even if gained wisdom isn't widely shared.

Mercury is an example of a threat to personal and public safety that  
has produced a wealth of documentation in both toxicology and  
epidemiology. Of course one can certainly over-react but cavalier  
treatment of threats such as these has serious consequences both in  
health and financial terms. It can be said with a high degree of  
confidence that virtually all processes that employ mercury without  
due care for human health produce a world of extremely nasty health  
effects eventually, if not immediately.

Documentation goes back centuries in mining, hatting/felting, glass  
making, paper, pesticides, fungicides, dentistry, paints & pigments,  
making and using eating/drinking utensils, plumbing, etc, etc. The  
entities that are reluctant to meet modern health requirements love  
to hear the evidence discounted and ridiculed. They pay lobbyists and  
politicians well to do it. It's a terrible injustice to the working  
people and communities who must bear the tragic health costs in stead.
73
seab
aa1my