[TheForge] Re: Interesting Article

[Mike Spencer]

> I found a more definitive set of warnings and cautions here: ...

The problem with label warnings is that the manufactures of stuff are,
presumably on the advice of their lawyers, crying wolf.  So we don't
pay attention when a real and important safety warning is present.

I have in front of me a bottle of hand cleaner.

                      Heavy Duty
                     Hand Cleaner

    DIRECTIONS: Apply hand cleaner to dry hands and rub well to
    dissolve all grease and grime....

    CAUTION: May irritate eyes.  May irritate skin. Do not get
    in eyes.  Do not get on skin or clothing....


Yeah, yeah.  Once some idiot ditz coated his whole body with this or a
related product and then spent 3 hours tanning naked in the West Texas
sun in August.  After he was cleaned up and returned to his custodial
institution, numerous blisters were found on his body and he smelled
funny.  His family sued us for $100,000,000 for contributory
negligence and won.  So, like, you know, don't get this stuff on your
skin, eh?

Enough of those scenarios and we don't find safety warning credible
even when they say, "Get this on your fingers and you will die in 10
minutes" or "breathe these fumes and your liver will turn to compost
before bedtime."

There *are* frighteningly dangerous chemicals [1] and it would be real
nice if the scary warning labels warned us against them instead of
chiefly protecting corporations from law suits by people who might put
Drano on their Cheerios, wash their kid's hair with oven cleaner or
use SuperGlue for eyedrops.


- Mike


[1] E.g. dimethylmercury: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Wetterhahn

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^