Bernie;
Good job on picking up on my implied disdain. :>) And great wording
too. I went to the linked story and read it. Yes, it's scary. No, it's
nothing new. There was a massive problem in Japan with mercury-tainted
fish decades ago. There was, if I recall correctly, much human damage
sustained of the type described in your article. This of course is
unacceptable, and is part of the reason some (all? - I doubt it)
mercury-based products have been banned by our all-powerful US EPA.
I have 2 points to ponder about this:
1) Mercury batteries and other mercury based products are still
manufactured and are available in much (most?) of the rest of the world,
including Canada and Mexico. I've had an OM-1 since 1977 and have
changed my PX-625 or PX-13 battery exactly three times. Unfortunately
the third time I unknowingly put in a PX-625A marked as a direct
replacement for the PX-625. I believe it killed my meter. So, anyway,
what has been the 22 year impact of my use of 3 mercury batteries? I'll
leave that for others to answer if they wish. There is undoubtedly a
huge range of interpretation. There are alternatives to hg batteries and
I suggest concerned folks (who've a bit of extra money to burn) go that
route. Me? I figure 2 more hgs are a lifetime supply.
2) On a VERY similar note, the all-powerful vaunted US EPA (who, of
course, is the agency which banned mercury), in concert with the
California Air resources board, the PAC-money rich oil companies and the
corrupt, totally bought and paid for politicians (Pete Wilson, Gray
Davis, Willie Brown(who also takes more tobacco money than anyone else)
amoung the worst offenders) have foisted a FAR WORSE environmental
disaster on the people of California - in the name of clean air! I
point this out simply as an hypocrisy primer.
For those interested: the EPA has **mandated** that all gasoline sold in
California (starting about 2 or 3 years ago) contain a not-insignificant
amount of a chemical called 'MTBE'. This substance is EXTREMELY
carcinogenic in micrscopic amounts, and it used to be an oil-refining
byproduct which was expensive to be disposed of (I wonder where they put
it ...). BUT NOW, it's in every gallon of gas I put in my car. Why is
it there? To reduce air pollution of course. Does it work? They
claim it reduces tailpipe emissions by about 10%. Great, I'm for that.
They admit there is one side effect - gas mileage decreases!! Mine
decreased by about 12%. Let's see -10 %, **does anyone besides the
beaurocrats at the EPA need help with this math????**
So what's the net result? My gasoline is now poisoness, I'm putting
MORE polutants in the air each mile, I'm burning **more** gasoline per
mile AND, oh, did I forget to mention, **the cost of a gallon went up
15-20% with MTBE. ******* So who benefitted? I'll leave that as an
exercise.
Oh, one more thing, to NO ONE's surprise, the MTBE from storage tanks
has quickly migrated into - THE GROUND WATER. Wells all over the state
are poisoned beyond repair as NO ONE knows how to get the MTBE out of
the water for anything less than astronomical costs (the oil cos will be
glad to do it at that price.) Also, anyone who's been to Cal knows what
a jewel Lake Tahoe is. Well, guess what? The MTBE from boats and
jet-skis has been found in large amounts in Lake Tahoe in the course of
only 2 or 3 years. What is the response of the great politicians who
perpetrated this disaster? Why, ban jet-skis from Lake Tahoe and other
Lakes. That'll fix it, right? Another option exists of course -GET RID
OF THE DAMN MTBE NOW. This actually may soon happen, thanks in part to
public pressure. Of course an IMMEDIATE solution exists - simply allow
gasoline from the other 49 states to be sold in California. This would
also benefit the consumer by lowering the sky-high cost of gas here
($1.77 for mid-grade). But the Governor, Red oops I men Gray Davis, has
decided against that. Gee, I wonder why? Continue to allow a chemical
which is destroying the environment to be allowed to be used when a
solution exists? Could it be oil company campaign money .... ???
OK, rant over. My point? The effect of a couple hg batteries over 20
years can not be compared to the gallon of MTBE-laden gas I burn every
22 miles. Am I hypocritical about it? Probably. Am I rationalizing? Yes.
Do I think these 2 batteries are going to destroy the planet for my
children? No. Corruption, greed, and our politicians will do that.
George
PS: Will look forward to ADITL submissions. Do you have a 50 with your
OM-1? You could take photos without a meter by using sunny F/16 rule,
extrapolating and bracketing. Then you could do ADITL2 as well.
Bernie & Diana Bennett wrote:
>
> Olympus members:
>
> I have been following the postings on the battery problem with interest as I
> am
> about to resurrect my Pen FT and my OM1. They were retired because I was
> having
> exposure problems probably related to the wrong battery voltage. I'll be
> scanning my photos by winter for the next A Day in the Life (3 or 4).
>
> The reason I write is:
>
> Today I read the referenced posting which softpedaled (implied disdain for)
> the
> mercury problem.
>
> "George M. Anderson" wrote:
>
> > My advice is to get that battery out of there right away. I unknowingly
> > used one of those and shortly thereafter the meter in my 20 yr old OM-1
> > went dead. I don't know if that was the cause, but ...
> >
> > Get a real mercury battery from Gary Schloss or some other source. They
> > are the best option. Assuming you can live with the horrible
> > consequences to the planet when your penny-sized mercury battery ends up
> > in a landfill after its' 5-10 year life in your camera.
> >
> > george
>
> The very next item I picked up online after closing my Olympus mail folder was
> this:
> http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/21674.html
> Headlined "Mercury's Scary Migration".
>
> Back to Lurking,
> Bernie Bennett
> Brenham, TX USA
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