Mercury is highly toxic, can cause permanent harm to a fetus, a developing brain or an adult's kidneys. No safe level exists. Mercury is notoriously volatile (liquid at room temperature) so vapors alone cause neurological and fetal damage. The CDC warns mercury from amalgam is "a major source" of mercury in our bodies.

A Cleveland chlorine plant, Olin, is the worst single offender in Tennessee, dumping 4xs the mercury of one power plant. Tennessee dental offices, are worst group offender, burdening taxpayers for wastewater cleanup. Dentistry's 19th-Century amalgam “silver” fillings are 50% mercury, 25% silver. Today, white composite is interchangeable with amalgam. Dental workers are exposed to mercury vapors every time they open an amalgam capsule. Vaccines are another source of mercury with 1-day injection amounts from flu shots at levels EPA puts as suitable for a 550-pound person.

To protect babies, pregnant women are warned to avoid unnecessary mercury exposure. EPA reports show one in eight women are already so mercury toxic they risk having brain-damaged babies. Dentists should install composite. Olin, one of only 4% of US chlorine plants still using mercury, should switch. All women should go to Chelation doctors to detoxify out mercury before they get pregnant.

Tami Freedman
Rossville

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Isn't it documented that mercury compounds, which are different from poisonous elemental mercury, have not been used as a preservative in vaccines for several years? Chemical compounds aren't necessarily bad for us.

Take, for example, sodium and chlorine. Sodium is very poisonous. It also tends to react violently, and exothermically, when coming in contact with water. The smoke will burn one's skin and eyes, too. Not that this writer has any personal experience with sodium from the chemistry lab in high school, or potassium, but Rick Howard and I did have to do a comparison test to be sure Mr. Grissom wasn't trying to shoot us a line. He was right. Both make a pretty big bang in a puddle of water. Chlorine gas is one of the most poisonous substances known to man. Sodium hypochlorite, common old household bleach, is one of the most effective disinfectants known ... one atom each of sodium, chlorine, and oxygen dissolved in water. However, the compound sodium chloride, plain old table salt, a compound of 1 atom each of sodium and chlorine, is necessary for life.

Chlorine producers' reactor cells (Olin Corporation, for example) use mercury, those who still use mercury, as an electrode for an electrolytic process. This means they use electricity to break down the molecules of 1 compound into its elemental components for use either by themselves or in other compounds and products they sell for industrial, commercial, and consumer use. The process is totally enclosed, because many of the byproducts are gaseous in their natural form, and everything is recovered. If they use recovered hydrogen for their process, and mercury is much heavier than hydrogen, how would their recovery process not catch any mercury vapor too? With the cost of mercury these days, and ignoring the environmental regulations involved, why would they want to just flush it into the river without recovering as much as possible?

Those of us who are members of The Geezer Gang remember mercury thermometers when we were kids. Accidentally chomp down on, or drop, Maw's fever thermometer then show up the next day with shiny nickels and dimes? Busted!

One might also do a bit of investigation into the chemical processes involved in dental amalgam. Specifically, the solubility in spit ... um, saliva. A little chemistry knowledge can go a long way, but we also have to remember that our public school systems are often more interested in indoctrination these days than they are true education and teaching critical thinking skills. Big Al and the Boys' religion of global warming is, after all, much more important than learning how to think for one's self, isn't it.

Arsenic compounds are found in mushrooms and fish, sometimes in relatively high concentrations. What should that tell us? Arsenic is also used extensively in electronic components, primarily as a doping material for silicon and gallium semiconductors. Let the smoke out of one of those little black hinkies on a computer's motherboard and one must wonder what the poison exposure possibilities are.

Concerned about the arsenic and mercury compounds in drinking water? Does anyone ever stop to think what fish do in it? Outlawing dihydrogen monoxide would go a long way toward eliminating all problems with our drinking water.

Radioactive components of fly ash? Better not spend the day on a beach or in the back yard sunbathing. We also need to stay away from any and all broad-leafed vegetation, a significant source of alpha radiation, as well as getting rid of all those smoke detectors in our homes, sources of alpha and gamma radiation from the Americium component in the ionization chamber. We also better stay away from all those buildings that use metamorphic stone such as granite, slate, and shale for construction. These are potential sources of radon gas, as well as other radiation due to their mineral content.

US Gypsum and National Gypsum both have manufacturing facilities that use fly ash exclusively as their primary raw material. For what ... drywall wall board, Sheetrock, that stuff used for interior walls in our homes that we have to paint once in a while.

Does any of this mean that corporate citizens who aren't good neighbors should be given a "Get Out of Jail Free" card? Absolutely not. However, as one who grew up near Detroit back in a day when it wasn't at all uncommon to hear the Rouge River had caught on fire and who used to swim in the Detroit River, Lake St. Claire, Lake Erie, and others, we do need to temper our environmentalism with a bit of reality.

Hazardous chemicals are a fact of life. They should also be handled carefully and, for the most part, they are. Is it realistic to demand that substances occurring in nature be totally banned? How realistic is it to mandate lower levels of toxins be released than what occurs in nature? Is mankind to be held accountable for what Maw Nature does?

A little bit of knowledge about the processes and procedures used in industry might also go a long way, but there we go with that school deal again.

And what of those corporate citizens who are intentionally not good neighbors. Then we do need to tattoo some tushi. But most are good neighbors. Their employees and local executives live close by the plants so why would they want to intentionally poison their own living quarters? Does it make sense that any reasonable person would want to do so? Excuse me. I forgot about our Hamilton County government executives and their propensity for spending our tax dollars, exempli gratia $288 grand per job for a VW plant, so perhaps we better limit that to industrial people who have to live in a real world rather than one of make believe like Alice in her Wonderland. Only government will make a mess in their own mess kit, because they have us taxpayers to clean it up for them.

Is anyone else tired of all the fear mongering?

One thing's for sure, though. The only way any one of us will leave this level of existence is TU, tango uniform, toes up ... hopefully without a tag on one of them. The sooner we all understand that universal fact, the sooner the fear mongers will tone down their rhetoric and go away.

The only other sure thing at this moment is that I need to go find some ice cream to counteract getting a little heavy handed with the cayenne pepper, sodium chloride too, on my omelet a little while ago.

Royce E. Burrage Jr.
Royce@ReplaceNaifeh.com