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Re: [BKARTS] toxicity in xerox transfers
I've seen enough letterpress printers and printmakers who started working in
the time when it was acceptable to clean their hands in whatever solvent they
were using, keep all of the windows shut, and certainly never wear gloves.
Quite a few of them have serious health problems as a result. It would be
gravely negligent to ignore the precautions in the MSDS sheets and encourage
others to do so as well. Maybe nothing happens, but maybe it does, and do
you really want to take that chance? Nobody's calling for mass hysteria,
just a little common sense. Getting some of these chemicals on the skin is
the equivalent of drinking them because they are absorbed straight into the
bloodstream. Would you drink bleach?
Abby
-----Original Message-----
From: Book_Arts-L on behalf of J. J. Foncannon
Sent: Thu 6/15/2006 5:13 PM
To: BOOK_ARTS-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [BKARTS] toxicity in xerox transfers
To elaborate on my previous post. Oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) is
present in Life Saver's wintergreen mints,
many rubbing alcohol compounds, etc. It's the salicylate radical, the same
as present in aspirin, that could
CONCEIVABLY cause hearing loss. But you would have to shower in oil of
wintergreen daily to absorb enough to cause the
hearing loss that very large doses of aspirin can cause.
Many think the MSDS is a convenient and realistic guide for the
toxicity of chemical compounds. As a matter of fact,
it is an alarmist document that can and should be interpreted through the
lens of experience and reason. It presents a
totally worst case scenario for the toxicity of chemical compounds. Look at
the entry on bleach (calcium hypochlorite)
and you'll se what I mean. It reads like the description of a chemical
warfare compound.
On this list I've read about people wearing masks and rubber gloves
to empty packets of dye into water. Jeeze!!!
In our society, and probably in all societies since 1600, exposure to
chemical compounds is ubiquitous and, often,
unrecognized. For instance, the dollar bills you spend are sprayed with an
anti-fungal compound.
The steps some people take to protect themselves border on the
irrational. They discard their aluminum cooking
utensils because, as my chemiphobic sister proclaims, "aluminum is a death
metal," when, in fact, aluminum is ubiquitous
in our environment, in our soil, in fact. Some react with horror to the
consumption of nutrasweet because it
metabolizes in methanol, when a glass of orange juice contains six times as
much methanol as two packets of nutrasweet.
What is needed is a reasonable assessment of risks in handling the
chemicals in our environment, not hysteria.
Meredith R Winer wrote:
>
> One thing I've not yet seen posted here that is important for all those
> experimenting with transfer techniques: wintergreen oil straight from its
> bottle is NOT nontoxic. In fact, it is ototoxic, and can be absorbed
through
> your skin to cause hearing loss or damage to the ear's nerves over time.
WEAR
> GLOVES if you are working with wintergreen oil (working in a
well-ventilated
> area should be a given).
>
> I do a lot of work with transfer techniques and I'm an avid reader of
> information on safety of materials in the arts and I find it disturbing how
> few people know this fact. Hope it helps someone!
>
> Meredith
>
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--
*********************************************************
Jet Foncannon
Philadelphia, PA 19139
ON THE OPEN-MINDEDNESS OF SCIENTISTS
Rabi and Kusch, the former and current chairman of the department [at
Columbia University] came into my office...."You
should stop the work you are doing. You know it's not going to work. We know
it's not going to work. You're wasting
money. Just stop!"
Llewelyn H. Thomas, a noted Columbia theorist, told me that the maser
flatly could not, due to basic physics
principles, provide a pure frequency with the performance I predicted. So
certain was he that he more or less refused
to listen to my explanations. After it did work, he just stopped talking to
me.
Charles S. Townes, "How the Laser Happened."
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The Bonefolder, Vol 2, No 2, Spring 2006 Now Online at
<http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm>
Flag Book Bind-O-Rama and Exhibit
Entry Deadline, September 15, 2006
For all your subscription questions, go to the
Book_Arts-L FAQ and Archive.
See <http://www.philobiblon.com> for full information
***********************************************
***********************************************
The Bonefolder, Vol 2, No 2, Spring 2006 Now Online at
<http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm>
Flag Book Bind-O-Rama and Exhibit
Entry Deadline, September 15, 2006
For all your subscription questions, go to the
Book_Arts-L FAQ and Archive.
See <http://www.philobiblon.com> for full information
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