[Jewelry making - Article 00032] - Re: [Orchid] Firescoff - New Firescale

[R . E . Rourke]

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>     I am focusing on the nontoxic issues in my studio 

>     I have said before MY choice has been health over money.

    Ordinarily I don't personalize my posts but this one begs a reality
    check: 

    First I find it amusing that you are going to choose a new, untested,
    problematic product over a reliable less toxic product like Cupronil
    that has been on the market since 1975, was developed by a native
    american ( and while we are here-aren''t native americans purported
    to have an innate sense of respect for the earth?), prevents
    firescale, is a firecoat and is water soluable,.and lacks the
    hydrolyzed silicates present in Firescoff. What do you think "ceramic
    in matrix" is actually? It is glass/sand that is liquified in
    essence. If you think that is less toxic than borax, i will be the
    first to say- nay- that's right, I'm a nay sayer in this
    instance..nay, nay...In fact, i find it more amusing that in your
    quest for health you are going to send back two products rather
    thatn neutralize and dispose of them properly..what's worse, the
    fossil fuel consumption in the round trip to your door, or a label
    that says it may be hazardous to your health, or fetal health?...and
    who issued the labels..if you are trusting the government then this
    is moot! 

    Secondly, you are probably more exposed to chemicals taking a bath or
    a shower if you live in a city, than the health risks from non-
    flouride, or non-hydrochloric acid based liquid fluxes, like
    Cupronil. Your pores let in all sorts of chlorines and other
    contaminants in the shower or bath than the combined risks of using
    fluxes if you are responsible in their use and wear a respirator. How
    often do you change your respirator cartridges? How many microns of
    particles pass your nose on the way to the " air purifier", and why
    is it turning black in a week ( that black can be recycled by
    refiners it is traces of gold or silver and many companies turn that
    into credit- albeit through a combustion and chemical process)? If
    you want to be most healthful ionic bonding forces the particles
    bonded to..ions down onto the floor or surfaces due to their weight
    being heavier than room air, after which you can then - simply-
    vacuum with a rainbow brand vacuum cleaner that traps everything in
    water, rather than in a bag or canister, then wipe down every tool
    and surface daily if you think your health is that affected...Also
    how does that air purifier get powered?, by the sun, by wind...nay i
    say! i'm betting you plug it in a wall and pay a bill at the end of
    the month..again, i am amused at the statements, and paranoia
    generated from a label that is required to be put on anything
    containing chemicals by various regulatory agencies. If california
    feeds massive doses of everything to anything of course the potential
    for health risks to humans, aquatic life, and fetuses are
    compromised..What do you know of the methodology that gains a warning
    lable like you are buying into? What makes you think for one second,
    that Firescoff has been tested at all for any risks. We know it has
    complications in regards to waterways, it doesn't spray right and
    consequently drips down a user's hands ( if not wearing nitrile
    gloves) when the bottle gets low, or seal is "off" at all, among
    other problems, and ones yet to surface. Cupronil has been around
    since 1975, with nary a claim made against the manufacturer for
    health related illness. on the contrary, it is among the safest
    fluxes on the market, barring borax and water, or boric acid,borax
    and alcohol, with superior results. 

    Everyone is perhaps aware that using micro finishing sandpapers
    eliminate the need for pickle at all- but there are safe pickles
    available as well: for example, citric acid, glacial acetic acid,
    and hydrogen peroxide- if used responsibly all are as harmless as
    setting lemon juice in the sun to reduce it..if misused all pose
    certain heaalth risks, so its all in the application and the
    applicator..and the perspective. If global health is not your concern
    then return those products and use tons of electricity and fossil
    fuels to get it from your door to the suppliers. It all depends on
    one's point of view and the larger picture, versus the smaller one,
    and an individual's choices. I live in a house powered by the sun and
    wind and water, and have gravity delivered spring water exclusively
    and it gets to my spigots via a sealed clay pipe running through the
    forest, and the water goes through a filter i designed that contains
    charcoal, sand, gold and silver particles and silver mesh before it
    recieves a flash of ultra-violet light produced by battery operated
    contact that is triggered by pressure- then i drink it, shower in it,
    use it, distill it for jewelry making, and water my animals with
    it,etc..I'm betting you live in a city and are exposed to chlorinated
    and flouridated water for bathing and cooking and other water
    requirements in everyday life..I'm also betting you brush your teeth
    with sodium bicarbonbate and flouridated water - at best- the risks
    from swallowing are far greater than the risks of exposure to
    contaminants from using cupronil properly and with protection to your
    hands, eyes, and respiratory system..If you swim in a lake or a pool
    your health is more compromised than through the responsible use of
    fluxes and soldering practises. It's all about perspective. 

    I'm also betting in your quest for healthfulness you shop at a health
    food store. I personally find them a mecca of marketing ingenuity; to
    proffer onto the buyer that they are contributing to global health is
    ridiculous at least. Excessive packaging is the selling point in
    health food stores, if it were not, and people truly thought about
    the ramifications of specialty shopping, they would buy everything
    out of bulk bins, saving trees, and eliminating the plastics
    profusion, and encoraging smaller scale production methods to deliver
    healthful products in a responsible way to the target markets- that
    is the same people who propose to care about their health and the
    environment..the packaging doesn't lie. Labels lie..Everything
    containing chemicals has a label on it- and every chemical if
    ingested in large enough quantities has adverse affects.. And what of
    the testing methodology that gains a label?..again, perspective and
    whether or not yours is small or large scale and truly thoughtful
    about every facet of a given thing..from its origins, to production,
    to delivery, application, transport, and toll it takes on the planet
    before it arrives at your studio..Its a similar situation with
    organic foods industry. I would no more rather purchase a product
    that comes with dirt clinging to it than i would believe it is better
    than a product that has been rinsed and exposed to uv light ( we are
    not talking about redio active waves, but light waves).If a field is
    certified to not have had chemicals applied to it in 7-10 years
    great, but what about the people that harvest those products and the
    conditions that they experience in that chemical free field?
    Scientific evidence largely points to the harvesters and a
    corre;lation between the lack of sanitation and hygenic facilities
    for workers in the produce industry, organic or not, and the large
    amout of e.coli and other vastly more harmful things than borax
    entering into the food chain, and the reproductive cycle of man and
    animal..Do ou know how or wher eyour produce is handled? and how is
    it packaged? ..so what is worse?? its all in an individuals choices
    and the reality of a given topic..I happen to find it unconscionable
    that you would return the products and state that you chose health
    over money..it seems a bit selfish given the global picture, no? What
    does focusing on non-toxic issues really mean, in a studio, silver
    itself is a toxin if you ingest a large enough quantity of it..
    Perhaps i have become jaded as an industrial health consultant, and
    former anthropologist, but one cannot make jewelry without chemistry
    and exposing oneself to risks..Jewelry making is about taking risks
    as an artist. Its the responsible informed application of the person
    creating the pieces that is what safety boils down to, not trusting a
    label, or a new product that makes unsubstantiated ( as yet)
    claims..and if money is of no concern where there are health matters
    at hand, then throw some where it will make a difference..I know of
    an american city in utter ruin at present, with bodies yet to be
    found in ruined homes, and no one has the money to rebuild or even
    get back to reclaim their possessions, and the federal government
    has done nothing, nor has the state, nor city, nor rest of the
    world...except Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt, who moved there to
    bring awareness to the dire situation that makes it like a fourth
    world country...it is truly a health hazard on a large scale...it all
    depends on one's perspective and information based n reality... So
    if yu truly care about world health, and not just your own, get out
    the sodium bicarb and neutralize the fluxes and don't consider
    sending them to whence they came...then take some 100% post consumer
    waste paper and wrap the plastic bottles or containers they came in,
    removing the components that won't break down first, and toss it -
    where?, in the trrash, destined for a landfill, and where is that
    landfill? in your city or mine, or in the ocean somewhere on the
    globe??? And what about the components that won't break down
    readily- like the tin, or alloyed and perhaps cyanide based plating
    on the metal used in the spring of the sprayer assembly? What will
    you do with that? burn it?, dissolve it in aqua regia?...then what???
    I must admit my frustration with statements like yours regarding
    womens health being more important than mans health, and your studio
    being somehow less toxic than anyone elses when I'm betting you are
    not so removed from consumerism as to not even consider the effects
    of your actionson a larger scale...June Culp Zeitner has lived to
    over 90 as a lapidarist and jewelry maker. She began when asbestos
    was de riguer to jewelry making and many chemicals were used with out
    protection other than common sense.She has no adverse health issues
    from her art and craft to date... 
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