Posted on 03/22/2006 12:26:11 PM PST by Born Conservative
LONDON, March 21 — There were bananas whose curvature could not be excessive, and rhubarb whose stalks must be straight, and they all belonged in the category of myths about the intrusiveness of European Union directives to its member states.
But there is one order about to be imposed that sounds just as improbable — bizarre, even — and yet, it seems, is true: under a rule to curb hazardous substances in electrical products, Europe is about to restrict the centuries-old business of building pipe organs for churches, concert halls and other institutions.
The reason? Organ pipes contain large amounts of lead, and the wind that blows through them is generated by electricity (rather than the older method of people pumping bellows behind the organ). The new directive, to come into force in July, limits the proportion of hazardous substances like lead, mercury or cadmium to 0.1 percent of a finished product that works on electricity.
"We are caught in an absurd anomaly," said Doug Levey, a spokesman for the Institute of British Organ Building, which says it represents most of the country's 400 organ builders in about 65 companies.
The directive, approved by European governments four years ago, was intended to address problems caused by the disposal of products like cellphones or computer circuit boards. Dumped in landfills, the argument goes, discarded items of consumer electronics pollute groundwater as hazardous substances are leached from them.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They've got Islamofascists running amok in their countries, but what they're worried about is pipe organs. That's smart.
The solution is to pump organs manually, as God intended ...
There is then the risk of blindness..
Actually, I knew a guy who was a music major in college that used to smoke his pot in an old organ pipe.
Manually, or you could put a couple of horses on a treadmill for the larger organs. As a bonus, you could use the manure in the parsonage garden. Yeah...that'll work...
Why did I suddenly think of Animal House?
It's difficult to fathom just
HOW Europeans living near those
huge cathedrals have managed to
survive the peril all these ages.
I know the Romans were supposed
to have become sterilized due to
drinking water being piped into
their villas via lead pipe systems,
but the idea of BREATHING in lead
poisoning is new to me!
Ah, well...live and learn!
E.Power Biggs:call your office
"which says it represents most of the country's 400 organ builders in about 65 companies. "
I had no idea that the market for organs was so large as to require 65 companies!
Otter: Mine's bigger.
Mrs. Wormer: [looks at him]
Otter: My cucumber. It's bigger. I think vegetables can be very sensuous, don't you?
Mrs. Wormer: No, vegetables are sensual. People are sensuous.
'Otter': Right. Sensual. That's what I meant. My name's Eric Stratton. People call me Otter.
Mrs. Wormer: My name's Marion. People call me Mrs. Wormer.
'Otter': Oh, we have a Dean Wormer at Faber.
Mrs. Wormer: How interesting. I have a husband named Dean Wormer at Faber. Still want to show me your cucumber?
I was thinking of Marmalard and Babs in the convertible: "Greg, honey, is it supposed to be this soft?"
And later when she removes her latex glove with a loud snap.
I love that movie.
I thought it was supposed to make you go blind, not silly.
"I had no idea that the market for organs was so large as to require 65 companies!
"
Most of those companies are quite small. Organ building is still an artisanal thing...very complicated and time consuming.
It's also about to become a lost art. The cost of a new pipe organ is so high now that few churches, the traditional market for pipe organs, can afford one.
On the other hand, if you're interested in one for a large home or other venue, you can pretty much have one for free, if you're willing to remove it from a church and can afford to have it installed and repaired. It's an odd industry that way.
Will be interesting to see how this develops.
The computer I am typing this has a lot of lead solder, as most electronic thingys do.
It also has a couple of blowers/fans.
Will they outlaw electronics next?
The Sousaphone players in my high school band used their mouth pieces as pipes.
"The Sousaphone players in my high school band used their mouth pieces as pipes."
What organ were you referring to?
"The new directive, to come into force in July, limits the proportion of hazardous substances like lead, mercury or cadmium to 0.1 percent of a finished product that works on electricity."
Leaving a huge loophole -- simply add enough dead weight (say a slab of iron, or a heavy metal chassis) to the finished product to bring the % of lead down to below the limit. Of course, this wouldn't work as well for portable electronics.
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