From: Sarah Van Keuren (svk@steuber.com)
Date: 05/01/00-12:18:06 PM Z
Linda Phillips wrote:
> The thing about dichromates that make them scarier for me is the fact that
> they are carcinogenic. I may be wrong about this, but I've always had the
> understanding that with carcinogens, only ONE MOLECULE is enough to cause
> cancer, if the conditions are right and your luck is bad. So, it makes me
> queasy to have someone say that its OK to dump these poisons into the public
> realm.
>
> I live in a semi-rural neighborhood where all of the homes have their own
> wells and septic fields. I REALLY DO hope that my neighbors AREN'T dumping
> carcinogenic dichromates into my drinking water. Perhaps the fact that Judy
> lives in a big city makes a difference. But the laws say otherwise. I
> respect Judy and Sarah for their honesty. But lets face it, while Gum and
> Carbon Printing are not the most common of endeavors, there has been renewed
> interest in these processes and, thus, there ARE a lot of people out there
> in less urban areas that are dumping dichromates into our environment.
Linda, I do sympathize with your concerns and actually advise people who
live in rural situations like yours with a well and septic fields NOT to
work in non-silver at home. For instance, a former student wanted to set up
a non-silver darkroom in Martha's Vineyard and I strongly advised him
against doing so in such a fragile environment.
Regarding carcinogens, I believe that tannic acid that we've been discussing
in another thread is a known carcinogen (though I'll have to double check at
school and will verify) yet it is contained in coffee and tea and walnuts
etc. It may be classified as such because it is an irritant that with
repeated exposure could induce mutation of cells - sort of like the
irritation of smoking cigarettes. Like a tree about to fall that topples
when a bird lands upon it, I can imagine a situation in which only one
molecule tips the scales for an already compromised non-silver worker but
you are I are exposed all the time to carcinogens and live on.
Sarah Van Keuren
>
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