Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interestingly -- when it comes to toxicology it is not the substance that determines the poison but the dose. Water is still a toxin, we just have evolved ways to handle up to a certain amount of water per day before water poisoning takes hold. Everything is a toxin, we just have it in our bodies to handle some of it.
Wouldn't there be another word for this effect? It's not that water per se is toxic, is that eventually if you have a lot, your body "overflows". Being toxic is not an intrinsic property of the element, but is being derived by its quantity.
Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
241–250 of 344 posts
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think their point was - don’t do something daily with potentially powerful but unclear effects until we have some evidence on it’s long term safety. Unless there is a pressing, specific need (like cancer that may be worth the risk). Which seems reasonable?
Which I agree with. I'm definitely not advocating that people take this stuff. Only pointing out that it's not completely obvious that it's harmful.
There are some areas where being conservative can be a wise decision. It could pay off though. That’s always the gamble, right?
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It never made sense to me to use hydrocarbon solvents in a food application I get your point, but isn't this kind of a broad statement? After all, ethanol is a hydrocarbon solvent, and it's been used in food applications for a long time.
Ethanol is not a hydrocarbon, nor is TCE. By definition, a hydrocarbon is composed of carbon and hydrogen. Ethanol contains oxygen, while TCE contains chlorine.
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#244When you drink your coffee without caffeine in your 30 for escaping a harm from caffeine, but end up with Parkinson in your 60+.
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#245Here's my experience with it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34887615
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's used in dry cleaning in the USA, and their suppliers will deliver it to you by the gallon [0]. MSDS of course [1]. If you're in Australia and go to the dentist, there's this as well [2] although surely that container with its death's head and POISON label are kept well out of sight. Of course there's the lab supply chain, but that's usually more expensive. It's really easy and legal to get if you want it. I've k…
> It's used in dry cleaning in the USA Does it remain in the fabric after use? Is there danger to the wearer of dry-cleaned clothes or only to the people working at dry cleaner businesses?
Source: a college friend of mine, years ago, who worked as a dry cleaner. After talking to her, I've never used one since.
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
TCE is widely used in industry (and was introduced as a replacement for more toxic and persistent solvents like chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, etc.). Such non-polar solvents remain critically important for a wide variety of manufacturing processes, e.g. > "TCE the solvent ENTEK uses is essential to ENTEK's separator manufacturing process TCE has a unique combination of chemical properties that , together , facilit…
> capturing and recycling TCE after use is fairly expensive, and since it was cheaper to buy new TCE, manufacturers would just dump their dirty used TCE, creating superfund sites etc. This isn't a problem, us future generations can just engineer our way out of it at a cheaper cost than it would have been to deal with it in the first place. /s - For sarcasm, and sorry.
People are constantly assuming magical future entropy-undoers to justify their breaking and ruining things today.
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#248That chemical is trichloroethylene. Even Science does clickbait now.
There are two other issues with this... 1. The authors only studied two military camps. One with high TCE levels, and one with low TCE levels. But, obviously, there might be any number of other factors that are different between the two camps with a causal relationship to Parkinson's Disease. 2. There is an active class action lawsuit from this military camp. Doing a limited study that benefits one side of a class ac…
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's used in dry cleaning in the USA Does it remain in the fabric after use? Is there danger to the wearer of dry-cleaned clothes or only to the people working at dry cleaner businesses?
Yes. This is why most dry cleaners won't accept bedding. It's considered too high-contact. (If they do accept it, they wash it with something other than TCE) Source: a college friend of mine, years ago, who worked as a dry cleaner. After talking to her, I've never used one since.
What do we do about our formal wear then?
Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its certainly in the soil and groundwater - but why would it be in the air?
It's no longer uncommon to (carbon) filter drinking water at the tap or in your fridge, which then makes a hot shower likely a major avenue into your body by way of your lungs unless you filter water for the whole house plumbing system.