[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: mercury poisoning
Hi all,
Sorry to flog this dead horse some more but I'm in the process of catching
up with old list mail; found the discussion on mercury interesting and had
write when I read the following:
> Is there a documented case of a glassblower suffering harm -- not "well
maybe it just >might be a problem".
My former employers in Honolulu had a case of mercury poisoning. It was
after I'd left the company, so I wasn't there to witness it, but according
to them the newly-hired bender, a man in his forties, was extremely careless
about mercury handling...not as bad as the coated walls mentioned in one
post but still pretty bad -- they asked him to be more careful (tired they
were of finding droplets all over the bench when they came in with a
pattern) but he shrugged it off. THEN ONE FINE DAY this otherwise shy and
retiring gentleman went a bit loony, breaking into a church and otherwise
prompting action from police and other authorities...he was tested and found
to be suffering from merc poisoning. And, of course, the punchline in this
case was that the employers were found liable, had to pay fines and
lost-time pay and so on. (If you want more details e-mail me privately and
I'll give you the name and phone number of the company).
>This same article also says that "Once mercury has entered the body, it may be
>months before all of it leaves". But it does leave!
Meanwhile, say, you're pregnant...here in Japan it's taken rather seriously,
given the horrors of merc poisoning at Minamata 40 years ago that ruined
thousands of lives...granted, it was merc compounds transmitted via fish,
but it was mercury nonetheless.
-Ted Pirsig