Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

>  My post related to the fact that some people think that
> since Acetic Acid is concentrated vinegar, it is "natural", "organic",
> and "safe". It is just as much a chemical as the others and has a nasty
> set of immediate biohazards all of its own.
This is an all-too-often made mistake, Ed, not just with acetic acid--and
I'm glad you pointed it out.  There are many chemicals which are indeed
parts of foods, integral parts of physiological functions in our bodies,
etc. in dilute forms, but that are extremely dangerous, toxic, hazardous,
etc. in concentration.  Hydrochloric acid is another one that comes to
mind; we could not digest food very well without it, but it is REALLY
nasty stuff in concentration, as are many other perfectly "natural"
chemicals.  Normal table salt contains sodium and chloride, both necessary
for life--but go pour it straight on a garden slug and see what happens. 
(Think about that when you dump straight e-lytes onto the mucous membranes
of a stomach, BTW.)  Or take water, even--put a bunch of red blood cells
in pure water, and watch them rupture.

The hazardous nature of anything is dose-related or concentration-related,
and even perfectly innocuous stuff is bad in the wrong amount or the wrong
concentration or the wrong place.

Heidi



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