Roger,
Not being a chemist myself, I can only speculate Roger... but I think the
Amalgam in fillings is capable of breaking down over time and the mercury in
it is Methyl mercury and is released as a gas which is then inhaled and
enters the body through the lungs... or so I am told.
I think they have studies on this subject that indicate after removal of the
amalgam fillings that the urine and blood tests showed the mercury levels to
subside... I'm no expert on this subject but thanks for showing me there are
dissenting points of view on the subject... it's good to look at it from all
sides before making a personal decision like that.
The fish thing came to my attention when I was shopping at the market, they
have a warning sign on the freezer door telling you which fish is known to
contain the most mercury and on down the list to the least mercury..
I am told that coal fired power plants are part of the problem as well as
they spread the methyl version of mercury into the environment and the fish
and game get it in their food and water.
As this related to RoHS and WEEE it's interesting to note how it's affecting
industry and the environment... there are unintended consequences that they
have not planned for obviously. More research needs to be done and rational
decisions regarding the restrictions made so as not to unnecessarily place
restrictions on things that are benign or less of a problem to people's
health and more restriction on things that truly are a problem.
I hate getting fooled as much as the next guy, but I think there is some
real science behind this mercury thing... So many things we used in the past
to make pc boards were highly toxic or carcinogens like Triclor which we
used in open containers like you would with alcohol and in vapor degreasers
and Mercuric Chloride was used in the Ammonium Persulfate etchant we used...
the gold plating solution contained cyanide, and back when we were making
boards in the early 1970's there were few if any restrictions on the
disposing of spent chemicals or even handling them... I was exposed to them
all at various times on my open unprotected skin, I breathed the vapors from
the Trichlor all day long until I was dizzy... but I was a high school kid
and so far I have not developed any cancer...yet. (Keep my fingers crossed
that it stays that way).
I understand that in Taiwan at one of the major board shops there they have
a chemical recovery system that consists of a pipe that opens out into the
local rice patty... I wonder who's eating the rice? They say that rice grown
in the US contains higher levels of arsenic than any place else in the
world... I think Nick is right... maybe smoking is less hazardous than
eating... ;)
Oh well, we have strayed far a field with this from the RoHS discussion but
it is an interesting subject. Thanks for all the comments.
Be well,
Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
PCB Design Engineer, C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
Datron World Communications, Inc.
_______________________________________
San Diego Chapter of the IPC Designers Council
Communications Officer, Web Manager
http://dcchapters.ipc.org/SanDiego/
http://pcbwizards.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Stoops [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 5:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DC] (OT) Effects of Mercury Poisoning ... FYI
Don't start just yet...the dangers of smoking cigarettes and cigars, and
of chewing tobacco itself are very well documented.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/98/104695.htm
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mercury.html
The actual dangers of mercury:
http://www.calpoison.org/public/mercury.html
Some dentists had advised getting all dental amalgam fillings replaced
with alternatives; one fellow (I believe in Colorado or thereabouts)
lost his license to practice dentistry because of this practice. If we
could get a definitive value on "loads" of mercury; the most danger from
elemental mercury comes from the vapors themselves due to being inhaled
into the lungs. Swallowing small amounts of elemental mercury is not
life-threatening, as parents who have had their children break a mercury
thermometer in their mouths have found out after the frantic call to the
hospital or emergency services. (happened when my daughter was 4 or
so...)
The problem comes in when fish consume the mercury and it is converted
to methyl mercury, which "is" highly toxic to humans.
Regards,
Roger
-----Original Message-----
From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nick
Ban (PCBL)
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 5:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DC] Effects of Mercury Poisoning ... FYI
Geez - I think I'm gonna start smoking again....
-----Original Message-----
From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Brooks,Bill
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 4:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [DC] Effects of Mercury Poisoning ... FYI
The other thing I forgot to mention is the Dentist... those Amalgam
'silver'
fillings in your head... contain loads of mercury... it leaches pout
into your system every time you swallow, eat, brush your teeth, etc...
http://www.maineenvironment.org/toxics/Mercury_Brochure/dental_fillings.
htm
Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
PCB Design Engineer, C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510 Datron World
Communications, Inc.
_______________________________________
San Diego Chapter of the IPC Designers Council Communications Officer,
Web Manager http://dcchapters.ipc.org/SanDiego/
http://pcbwizards.com
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 2:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [DC] Effects of Mercury Poisoning ... FYI
Now you've done it, the EU is going to do another initiative to get rid
of Mercury...
Not only are we going to add space for Crossed-out Pb labels, now we're
going to have to add space for crossed-out Hg labels, too. And no more
tilt switches on circuit boards, what's that going to do to the pinball
manufacturers :p
--
George Patrick
Tektronix, Inc.
Central Engineering, PCB Design Group
P.O. Box 500, M/S 39-512
Beaverton, OR 97077-0001
Phone: 503-627-5272 Fax: 503-627-5587
http://www.tektronix.com http://www.pcb-designer.com
It's my opinion, not Tektronix'
-----Original Message-----
From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Brooks,Bill
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 14:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [DC] Effects of Mercury Poisoning ... FYI
Effects of Mercury Poisoning ...It's worth studying about... pass it on.
We all have some level of mercury in us thanks to dumping in the oceans
and lakes and rivers... I was talking before about the mercury levels in
the fish before regarding RoHS and it's focus on lead, and here is some
of the data for reference... I received some inquiries asking for more
data... I'm still learning about it myself... but I am more than happy
to share what I have so far.
http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/mercury2.shtml
<http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/mercury2.shtml>
http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/autism.shtml
<http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/autism.shtml>
http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/mercury.shtml
<http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/poisons/mercury.shtml>
http://www.cfspages.com/chelation.html
<http://www.cfspages.com/chelation.html>
http://homemakingcottage.com/health/mercury_detoxification.htm
<http://homemakingcottage.com/health/mercury_detoxification.htm>
http://www.y2khealthanddetox.com/mercfillings.html
<http://www.y2khealthanddetox.com/mercfillings.html>
The remedy my wife found with the least risk...
N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC)
It's an herbal remedy that helps your body produce the natural
detoxifiers it needs to safely bind with the mercury and remove the
mercury from your system... normally Mercury does not leave your body,
but accumulates and the symptoms get worse over time...
One of the things we were hearing about is childhood immunizations using
a Mercury based preservative which studies are indicating may have
caused the higher levels of autism and ADD/ADHD in the generations of
children who received them as babies... When they stopped using the
preservative the levels dropped dramatically... I'm hearing that the
legislators are trying to sneak in legislation to protect the
pharmaceuticals from litigation regarding this finding... stay tuned to
the news about that one...
I have started taking this supplement and will let you know if it makes
any difference... So far it seems to have made an improvement in
alertness and memory retrieval (I never will forget ol'
'whatsisname'...) ;-) I've been taking it about 3 weeks. I hear of no
down sides to taking it. Research it first of course for yourself before
you decide to take it... if you do.
Also... let me know if you start to feel better.
Best regards,
Bill Brooks
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