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Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

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Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#331
post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't dry cleaners launder most things - as in, they use clothes soap not TCE? I'm under the impression that this is what happens when I drop shirts off to be cleaned and pressed

The whole point of dry cleaning is not to use water. Now, sure many dry cleaners will offer laundry services, but that isn’t dry cleaning.

Doesn’t really address my question

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#332
post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole point of dry cleaning is not to use water. Now, sure many dry cleaners will offer laundry services, but that isn’t dry cleaning.

Doesn’t really address my question

No, my button up shirts say dry clean only and I drop then off at the dry cleaner to be dry cleaned, not laundered.

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a great question that is entirely fabric-dependent. If your formalwear is wool (for example, a tuxedo or blazer) you'd probably want to swap it out for a version of the garment which is made from Superwash wool, which is machine-washable. (Or your choice of alternative fabric.) Creating superwash wool is still a pretty chemically-intensive process, but that might not be forever: https://www.moderndailyknitting…

I have silk liner socks for hiking (wool over silk is the best combination for avoiding blisters), they're tumble dry low but that's what we always use anyway--I don't treat them any differently than anything else. (Yes, appearance doesn't matter one bit--nobody's ever going to see them. However, they have no marks despite the fact they obviously get a lot of sweat.) My wife also has some silk that likewise is done t…

The sheen of silk is altered by exposure to water, especially hot water, and uneven drying creates watermarks.

"[Silk] may be dry-cleaned but should not be washed with water , as water can alter the sheen and crispness of the silk fibers and cause staining if dried unevenly." Banner, Bernadette. _Make, Sew and Mend_, p15 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693333-make-sew-and-me...

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#335
post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...and as an inhaled surgical anesthetic for children As one who went under inhaled anesthesia a dozen times or more as a child in the 70s, I can only say, "WTF?" It makes a great solvent, so let's put in anesthesia?

> It makes a great solvent, so let's put in anesthesia? Literally, yes. The potency of an inhalation anesthetic is usually directly proportional to its lipid solubility. (Known as the Meyer-Overton correlation.) This is why solvents such as ether and chloroform were used as anesthetics and why N₂O is both an anesthetic and is dissolved in cream to form whipped cream. The mechanism of inhalation anesthetics is not com…

> and why N₂O is both an anesthetic and is dissolved in cream to form whipped cream.

Whipped cream is cream with colloidal air in it. Mostly regular atmospheric air, but any gas that is safe to eat and has no flavor would function equivalently. If the air were dissolved in the cream, it would just be cream, not whipped cream.

Wikipedia says that the purpose of nitrous oxide in commercial whipped cream canisters is to be stored (dissolved) at very high pressure so that, when the pressure is released, it can whip the cream by undissolving from it. (And that the secondary purpose is that the nitrous oxide doubles as a preservative.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipped-cream_charger#Culinary

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#336

Widely used chemical *(that was generally phased out in the 70s) linked to Parkinson's. Still important, but you don't need to start searching product labels in 2023 for it.

I'm not for panicked reporting, but in the face of the stated facts (as far as true) your comment is overly dismissive: the chemical solvent trichloroethylene (TCE)—common in soil and groundwater—increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The movement disorder afflicts about 1 million Americans, and is likely the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in the world; its global prevalence has doubled in t…

[flagged]

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#337
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that the only data sets they looked at? Comparing only two locations means that there could be any number of site differences that account for the difference in the rate of Parkinson’s disease, other than the studied chemical.

Pendleton seems to be a reasonable control, since the reported prevalence of 0.21% in patients under 60 matches other large data sets like the UK (0.25%). https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-01/Pr...

Sure, but it's like having ONE control patient and one Test patient.

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#338
post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Spray brake cleaner on hot brakes and you're pretty much instantly dead. brake cleaner is bad -- i'm not here to dispute that -- but i've witnessed quick-lube/inspection mechanics spraying brake cleaner onto hot brakes for 20+ years, both in shops i've worked in personally and in shops i've witnessed as a customer. Oil-lube guys routinely work on very hot just-off-the-highway cars. Brake inspections are often a requ…

I wouldn't be surprised if the wanton use of brake cleaner you describe was using the non-chlorinated variety. Both exist, e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05089-BRAKLEEN-Brake-Cleaner/dp/B... vs https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05089-BRAKLEEN-Brake-Cleaner/dp/B...

I note that this and the Nulon brand that I’ve used list TETRAchloroethylene rather than trichloroethylene as a constituent. I wonder if that’s any safer. The Wikipedia page[0] says it has been described as a possible "neurotoxicant, liver and kidney toxicant, and reproductive and developmental toxicant ... a 'potential occupational carcinogen'"

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachloroethylene

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#339
post #279
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This map (from 2015) shows sites with the most TCE groundwater contamination. Bay Area is actually quite clean. LA is completely fucked though https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2018-tce/

This is incorrect, or misleading at best. The map that you linked contains data about TCE levels in public water systems. It does not imply anything about the contamination of the groundwater supply which exists below many homes and workplaces in throughout the Bay Area. Contaminated soil and groundwater allows VOCs, such as TCE, to enter homes via a process called "vapor intrusion" and which can lead to negative hea…

Fascinating. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain

Re: Widely used chemical strongly linked to Parkinson’s disease

#340
post #325
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/toxic-chemical-fou... > The Oakland Unified School district announced the temporary closure of the McClymonds to test for the chemical tricloroethylene (TCE), which was found in groundwater under the campus. > "This is West Oakland and so there is a history of environmental injustice, of racial injustice that happens in this community. So these are places where there are leak…

Cancer has a fairly high incident rate in the general public, so anecdotes about people getting cancer due to industrial solvents is often suspect. Most observations can be explained by a combination of base rates, and social determinants of health.

The link between TCE and kidney cancer has already been very well established though. The Parkison's is just a cherry on top. If we know this place is contaminated, then we know there's increased risk of cancer. Full stop
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