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Re: [OM] Mercury batteries 1.35V

Subject: Re: [OM] Mercury batteries 1.35V
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 15:00:58 -0800
As a long time worrier about the environment, I am usually very sympathetic
to efforts to keep from poisoning the planet, but this whole mercury
battery seems to me to be just "show environmentalism". "You must give up
your battery, so we may be protected from Hg". However, mercury is an
essential ingredient to many industrial processes from mining to paper pulp
manufacturing. There have been some efforts to reduce the amounts used in
processing and to keep it from being dumped in waterways, but it has no
replacment in many uses. (It has been estimated that when the stuff already
lying at the bottom of streams and lakes is eventually metabolized by the
indigenous bacteria,first rung on the bottom of the food chain, we are
goners anyway.) I think that the mercury from photo batteries used in OLD
cameras is nothing compared to all the other sources of mercury dumped in
the environment. Sort of like worrying about the radioactive substance in a
smoke alarm when tons reactor waste are being buried along waterways and
earthquake faults. What is the old saying? It is closing the barn door
after the horses are out.

Sorry for the rant.


>In addition to that (they way it was finally explained here) is that the
>ban protects all the people who would be involved in the manufacture of
>such items.
>
>John
>
>Marco wrote:
>
>> On Ven, 13 feb 1998 5:38, Gary Schloss <mailto:schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>> >Actually, Hg batteries were banned because it was feared that Hg
>> >may contaminate river and sea waters. The danger was not in drinking
>> >Hg-polluted water, but in eating fish. Human body can dispose of
>> >small quantities of Hg, but fish accumulate it in concentrations
>> >that can potentially be lethal to humans.
>> >
>>
>> That is why are not used in Nikonos...
>>
>> Marco
>>


Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx



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