Posted on 01/23/2007 7:53:44 AM PST by blam
GGG Ping.
Every great artist must suffer for his art..........
This reminds me of a movie where Sean Connery was a monk/investigator. The movie was called "Name of the Rose". It also had Christian Slater in it. In a nutshell, Sean Connery was the character, Brother William of Baskerville, that was sent to a monastery to investigate a strange murder. He discovers that the culprit of the murder was a book whose pages were poisoned (maybe the same type of arsenic?).
Good movie, although I thought the ending was a little dissatisfying, what with the library and all those rare and valuable books going up in flames. Enjoyable to see the Grand Inquisitor get his comeuppance from the local peasanty, though.
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Good movie ... much better book. The plot was 'way too complicated to translate properly to screen.
I would believe every bit of this. Some of the most beautiful minerals (to me) are the arsenic based ones, and would yield nice pigments. I have a really nice piece of realgar. Most of the metallic sulfides are pretty, but not good for the health.
Thanks. I learn something everyday around here:
"The name "Realgar" comes from Arabic rahj al ghar = powder of the mine."
My first thought too. A GREAT book!
"What happened to their apprentices, who ground and prepared the pigments on a routine basis, I don’t know."
She doesn't know?
They died.
...after they dyed.
Don't eat the yellow dirt.
I'm a retired chip-maker and we used arsenic in that business...we took extreme precautions with our arsenic 'sources' and the operators had to do a yearly blood test. Also, 'treated' wood was changed just within the last 2-3 years because it was treated with some form of arsenic. The labels on the wood said to use gloves when working with it and do not breathe the fumes when cutting it. A lot ofchildren's playground equipment was built with this wood. The wood is coated with copper -----(?) now.
"If CCA-treated wood is safe, why change?
"The fundamental safety of CCA-treated wood has not changed, but perceptions in the marketplace have. The preserved wood industry stands by the safety of all wood products treated with CCA, which have been used for nearly 70 years. All wood preservatives go through rigorous safety testing and government approval procedures based on sound scientific research before they are ever used in consumer products."
"Although treated wood represents a tiny fraction compared to all the natural sources of arsenic in the environment, the preservative manufacturers have developed new lines of non-arsenic based preservatives to be responsive to current and anticipated customer interest."
Does that mean you agree or disagree with me?
It seems that they are almost treating one small chip of aresenic based paint or spackle (I don't remember what exactly) as though it were polonium.
If you work with it every day you obviously need to take precautions, especially if it becomes airborne or in a solution that can enter your body easily. (and Mr. G is fine thank you 8-) )
Well, I do know that it can be deadly in high concentrations and harmful in lower doses. I think the Brouhaha about the wood has been overdone. I think it depends on the concentration and exposure time. I wouldn't take it lighty.
Then I believe we agree.
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