[at-l] Cooling in Plastic - from someone who does this for a living

[woodelf@juno.com (woodelf@juno.com)]

While all this is probably true, why not cut down on a few of those
possibly harmful chemicals. Especially when it's so easy in the case of
chlorine. And be careful that rock might fall on you :-)

woodelf

On Sun, 13 Jan 2002 21:42:20 -0500 Clark Wright <icw39@ncfreedom.net>
writes:
> Having spent almost 20 years in env. law, here are a few zingers to
> thing about.  First, it's all a game of deciding how much effort 
> you
> want to put into minimizing what are generally very low risks, but 
> which
> can cumulatively add up.  An IMPORTANT factor here is your own 
> stress
> level, if you WORRY too much about avoiding all trace carcinogens, 
> etc.
> you actually can end up doing your body/mind more damage than the
> chemicals are doing  . . . with that caveat, here are a few oddball
> things to "gently" worry about: :)
> 
> 1)  All older wine has lead foil wrappers around the top; EPA 
> studies
> show it can leach in, or you can get some from traces on the bottle
> rim.  EPA banned lead foil in wine bottle tops several years ago . . 
> .
> so, before you enjoy that 1963 cabernet, take care in removing the 
> foil,
> and wipe the top of the bottle.
> 
> 2)  Brandy stored for any time in leaded crystal decanters will 
> contain
> leached lead; better yet, don't use any of that fancy (or cheap) 
> leaded
> crystal with any alcoholic beverage.
> 
> 3)  It always is possible for all plastic containers to leach small
> amounts of various "chemical stuff" into whatever liquid or solid 
> food
> is being containerized.  I always thought it was funny to find 
> fancy
> "spring water" in those 1 gal. plastic jugs . . . or the chug sized 
> ones
> people buy to "drink healthier."
> 
> 4)  All kinds of debates rage re chlorinated and flouridated tap 
> water;
> I don't run the other way, but we've used for years those filters 
> you
> can get that attach to the kitchen tap, so that 80% of what we drink 
> is
> filtered - but then again, I have not thrown out the plastic ice 
> trays!
> :)
> 
> 5)  Most good sized fish is guaranteed to have bioaccumulated 
> something,
> whether trace heavy metals (tuna/swordfish), or river fish 
> (dioxins,
> DDT, PCBs, etc.) or who knows what??
> 
> 6)  Most campfire rings on the Trail have trace plastic, garbage, 
> etc.
> in them - I bet we all inhaled some lovely stuff in good ole 
> campfire
> smoke, not to mention that particulates alone are bad enough.
> 
> 7)  Then there's all that unfiltered sunshine to give us skin cancer 
> . . 
> 
> 8)  Then there's who knows what in those plastic filters we use . . 
> .
> 
> 9)  Then there's all that iodine - or chlorine bleach we're 
> consuming as
> alternate water treatment methods . . .
> 
> 10)  Then there's all that nylon/plastic/DEET/seam sealer traces and 
> who
> knows what else smell we breathe at night if we sleep in a zipped 
> up
> tent in the winter . . .
> 
> 11)  Then there's the aromatic hydrocarbons from white gas . . . 
> 
> 12)  Then there's the esbit chemicals . . .
> 
> 13)  Then there's the natural carcinogens in wood smoke . . .
> 
> 14)  Then there's the carcinogens from grilling or frying . . . 
> 
> Gosh, I think I'll just go hide under a rock and let myself 
> naturally
> freeze to death! :)
> 
> It is a mind boggling world, as we learn more and more about trace
> chemical effects, cumulative effects, bioaccumulation - but I try 
> to
> view it as something to learn about, and every now and then take 
> some
> action about, but NOT something to worry to death over . . .
> 
> Hell, I'm probably already a superfund site - I used to have a POUND 
> of
> liquid mercury in a jar that I played with as a kid for years . . . 
> God
> only knows where we got it, or where it ended up!
> 
> Hiking On, nasty trace chemicals and all!
> 
> Thru-Thinker