primalmommy on tue 10 may 05
Gary wrote:
> Would Standard or Highwater be using a material that would
>be so hazardous to the very customers they sell it too, since they
could be
>held liable for any illness proven to have been caused by such? Like
with all
>posts here we should not be alarmists unless we have documentation to
show for
>it.
Gary, the hell of it is, NOTHING can be scientifically proven beyond a
doubt. technically, nobody has ever successfully proven that smoking
cigarettes causes cancer. Just ask Phillip Morris. And every gas station
on my street sells cigarettes with ho worry about liability.
People don't fall down dead the first time they smoke or sit by a
kilnload of manganese glazes. If they had the good manners to do so, we
might draw a conclusion. But by the time we develop cancer/Parkinsons
(or whatever) -- can we prove it wasn't the heavy metal in our Lake Erie
walleye, the dental x-rays, some food additive, the asbestos in your
schoolroom chalk dust, the mercury balls we used to play with when the
thermometer broke? Not if somebody has a good lawyer, you can't.
Me, I'm not willing to wait 40 years to find out whether asbestos is
going to hurt my lungs, or manganese give me Parkinsons. I use small
amounts of manganese in some glazes, but carefully -- and avoiding dust
- and venting fumes.
I'd rather be too cautious -- in practice, and in giving advice to
newbies -- than not cautious enough. Caution is easy and cheap. You can
decide what risks to take for yourself, just like you can decide to
jaywalk against the light based on your assessment of whether you can
beat the car that's coming. Just be aware that the folks behind you at
the crosswalk might follow without checking traffic for themselves,
assuming it's safe because you decided to cross.
And don't wait for science. The best science can come up with is
'compelling evidence" - not proof. And even that is often for sale to
the highest bidder. "Proven" always means "to somebody's satisfaction"..
it's never an absolute.
Yours
Kelly in Ohio
(married to a science nerd)
_______________________________________________________________
Get the FREE email that has everyone talking at http://www.mail2world.com
Unlimited Email Storage – POP3 – Calendar – SMS – Translator – Much More!
| |
|
