From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 05/21/01-01:44:17 AM Z
A 2nd trip through dichromated colloids per Kosar has, for better or
worse, left my prior opinion standing. While there surely could have been
info that actually addressed our problems but were missed by me in my
state of chemical ignorance, I found few possibilities. The material is
concerned with sensitivity, dark reactions, and keeping qualities. In
1965, disposal was a non-issue. True, we can extrapolate -- theoretically.
But such extrapolation is exactly what I have found by practical testing
to be vastly wide of the mark, even backwards.
Which is to say, if Kosar is the likeliest source we have in print on the
topic of disposal of dichromates, as Katharine seemed to indicate, we are
indeed flying blind. Nor do I find a chapter in which every 3rd or 4th
sentence includes, and I quote: "It can be assumed...." "Generally we can
say.... " "it can be expected...." "is generally accepted..." "possibly as
a result of..." "possibly due to..." "It appears most probable..." "It is
believed that..." "It is generally believed that..." "Most authorities
agree..." "we can reasonably assume..." "It was reported that..." and so
forth, a better guide than the daily horoscope.
Kosar has done little if any of it himself of course, but excerpts
findings from no less than 170 books, articles and patents, each with
different premises and protocol, and with often contradictory results. It
is generally not stated which colloid the "finding" refers to, and those
that are cited are mostly dichromated gelatin. The only reference to gum
arabic is a short section of definition. Since I found several statements
I knew to be NOT true in the matter of dichromated gum, although the
hexavalent to trivalent feature (scarcely hinted at here) may be constant,
perhaps I will be forgiven for lack of faith.
Disposal of dichromate is a timely and important issue, but it seems to me
the answers are yet to be coherentized.
Judy
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