Roger Korn on tue 8 may 01
I'd like to throw some more common sense at Vince's position on salt
firing fumes. Here in the Great Northwet, salt firings almost invariably
cause a fog bank to form. We try to dodge it, but some inhalation is
inevitable. I suffer from the congestion caused by a chronic pseudomonas
lung infection. If anything, the fumes clear me up. Thinking about this,
I believe that the mild HCl exposure helps liquify the "stuff" by
absorbing water from the air I breath so that coughing is more
"productive". Yes, it is "acid", as witnessed by litmus paper exposed to
the fumes and corrosion of metal structures, but the salts that are the
product of the reaction of HCl are chlorides, and rather soluble, so are
flushed from the system rather than persisting as contributors to the
heavy metal metabolites that we all avoid.
The above rationalization is based on experience and belief, rather than
clinical testing, so take it with a "grain of salt" (sorry!). If we wish
to clean up our acts, we'd be far better off thinking and doing things
to remove dust in general and silica in particular from the air we
breathe. Respirator discipline can help, but keeping the stuff out of
the air in the first place seems more likely to produce positive
results.
Good health to all of you,
Roger Korn, who coughed most of the night because I spaced my respirator
when brazing galvanized sheet metal yesterday. Duhhh!
McKay Creek Ceramics
PO Box 436
North Plains, OR 97133
rkorn@europa.com
503.647.5464
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