I have the elusive dangerous substance in my possession!

That sucks. Those Fortin and Kew barometers are quite sought after (and very accurate). Maybe you'll find another :-).

Best wishes,

Chris

On Tue, 29 May 2007 01:25:15 +0000, with neither quill nor qualm, Christopher Tidy quickly quoth:

Um, Chris, do you know the length of time and severity of exposure it takes to get cancer from breathing asbestos dust? Think years and pounds inhaled. Occasional exposure, such as those of us who have done 50+ brake jobs on autos, is pretty benign, especially if we've consciously avoided the dust clouds and/or wore a dust mask on occasion.

Add the fact that over 90% of asbestos mined was the least hazardous type and you realize the severity of the overreaction going on with the safety fidiots. All the poor folks in the mesothelioma lawsuits were working in extremely dusty factories for eons with no protection whatsoever, and most likely were heavy smokers, too.

SMoking further irritates the little fibers which are still in your lungs, increasing the disease.

- Metaphors Be With You -

I don't disagree with you. There is an over-reaction to the asbestos danger as well. Nevertheless a lot of people have died from mesothelioma. But I've yet to come across a clear-cut case of someone dying from elemental mercury poisoning in recent times.

Best wishes,

Chris

On Tue, 29 May 2007 04:43:23 +0000, with neither quill nor qualm, Christopher Tidy quickly quoth:

You'll probably find about as many die from elemental mercury as those who die from one inhalation of the horrible killers, asbestos or from silicone breast implants!

I touched it as a kid and look what happened to me! (I meant mercury, not a breast implant ;)

It's not elemental mercury which kills you. It's what fish or fish-eating animals (us) turn it into: methyl mercury.

- Metaphors Be With You -

Best wishes,

Chris

Yes, but you mentioned mesothelioma as an example of the over reaction by many. As for mercury, I've played with it as a kid and I'm still here. I still have it for removing leading from barrels fouled by lead bullets and the occasional use hasn't harmed me as far as I can tell.

It seems to me you don't touch it with your bare hands, vent fumes outside house, enjoy your barometer, and maybe buy some sulfur powder in case you need to do spill control.

I hope you enjoy your project.

Wes

And be aware that all hell might break loose if you have a fire and it gets uncontained...

Thanks Rich. Useful reference.

I have an 1850s vintage Banjo Barometer with mercury still working reliably and I have an 1850s ships barometer ,unfortunately with no mercury as the tube was broken before I acquired it. Also have enough mercury to fill it if I could ever get the tube fixed.

-- John G.

What do you think tooth fillings were made of, silver and mecury.

The dentist mixed the two elements together and it became a hard paste that he pressed into the hole in your tooth after he drilled it out. You would think people would have been dropping dead like flies on DDT.

John

I've been meaning to ask: did you really buy 30kg?? are you going to surf on it?

And seriously, are you taking serious precautions against mad hatters disease etc.?

Zed

More to the point Chris, mif you do find yourself salivating too much, it may be a early symptom that you have too much mercury in your body (not a joke).

.=2E..and I always thought that mercury came from HG Wells :-)

Cheers

Peter

Well, I don't think I'da told that one.

That was awful!

I was about to post my own comment on the 30kg! Seems you would be on the verge of being able to put it in a tub and float on it. I would have a hard time resisting trying that.

Back in my youth I had maybe a few hundred grams, which I thought was a lot. What size tubing do you plan for your barometer?

I used to enjoy playing with the mercury with my bare hands. I don't think it had any long-term effects but I don't recall the particular madness symptoms. Maybe I have some.

It is only about 2 liters of mercury.

Yep. Just did the math. 2.2 liters. Probably not enough to surf on or float on, but still more than I have seen. 66 lbs for us 'merkins.

Wondering what the shipping packaging was like. Thinking it could jump like a mexican jumping bean in the shipping truck.

You know, if he made a very custom bath that fits his body shape, he could float on it.

I thought that he picked up those iron flasks locally?