Mercury in Skin Cream

[Space Racer]

A woman used a skin-lightening cream every day for seven years.

Woman had 524x the normal level of mercury in her blood from skin cream use
.

A 47-year-old woman in Sacramento, California, has been left severely impaired—unable to talk or care for herself and requiring a feeding tube—after using tainted face cream that contained highly toxic methylmercury.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019...ed-skin-cream/

[broner910]

That's why I just use shea butter.

[ammoniadog]

There is a light house on Lake Superior I went on a tour of once. The tour lady mentioned that the giant light bulb assembly used a "mercury bearing" in order to spin around. I was curious so I asked what a mercury bearing was. Basically there is a pan with a couple of gallons of mercury dumped into it, and the light assembly floats on top of it. She said that the mercury eventually evaporates and they need to top it off periodically throughout the year. I'm pretty sure that even to this day it is still like this, and the historical society is still able to buy large quantities of mercury in order to keep the thing running.

This is crazy to me, especially considering how close this building is to a lake (the biggest freshwater lake that our country has). There have been many stories of lighthouse keepers going crazy over the years. Many assume that it is just the long periods of extreme isolation, but I'm thinking that the mercury might also have something to do with it.

I guess the stuff is good for your face though.

[pageyjim]

"Elemental or metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white metal, historically referred to as quicksilver, and is liquid at room temperature. ... At room temperature, exposed elemental mercury can evaporate to become an invisible, odorless toxic vapor."

All I can say is wow.

[pageyjim]

A. Mercury In Lighthouses
There are about 117 commissioned lighthouses on the Great Lakes. In the 1960s the US
Coast Guard addressed potential mercury contamination issues by removing most
mercury bearings in lighthouses in the Great Lakes. Currently, no commissioned
lighthouses in the Canadian Maritimes (Health Canada, 2003; Gauthier, 2004) or in the
Great Lakes (US or Canadian) (U.S. Coast Guard, 2004) have mercury bearings. In
addition, MDH has been unable to identify any decommissioned lighthouses, other than
Split Rock, with mercury bearings on the Great Lakes. Furthermore, according to a
lampist who was involved in removing mercury bearings from service while he was in
the Coast Guard, Split Rock is the only remaining operational mercury bearing anywhere
in the United States (Pepper, 2009).

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/Sp...12-18-2009.pdf

[ammoniadog]

A. Mercury In Lighthouses
There are about 117 commissioned lighthouses on the Great Lakes. In the 1960s the US
Coast Guard addressed potential mercury contamination issues by removing most
mercury bearings in lighthouses in the Great Lakes. Currently, no commissioned
lighthouses in the Canadian Maritimes (Health Canada, 2003; Gauthier, 2004) or in the
Great Lakes (US or Canadian) (U.S. Coast Guard, 2004) have mercury bearings. In
addition, MDH has been unable to identify any decommissioned lighthouses, other than
Split Rock, with mercury bearings on the Great Lakes. Furthermore, according to a
lampist who was involved in removing mercury bearings from service while he was in
the Coast Guard, Split Rock is the only remaining operational mercury bearing anywhere
in the United States (Pepper, 2009).

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/Sp...12-18-2009.pdf

Yep, that's the one. Split Rock light house.

[BBeerme]

Let me guess, made in China.

A woman used a skin-lightening cream every day for seven years.

Woman had 524x the normal level of mercury in her blood from skin cream use
.

A 47-year-old woman in Sacramento, California, has been left severely impaired—unable to talk or care for herself and requiring a feeding tube—after using tainted face cream that contained highly toxic methylmercury.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019...ed-skin-cream/

[pageyjim]

Let me guess, made in China.

I believe it was Mexico.