Wow.  This is something out of Sci-Fi — except that it’s real.  I wonder how many people were aware of the manufacturer having this toxic stuff?

I looked up nitric acid here –really toxic stuff.

And ferric chloride is really bad — with abdominal pain, diarrhea, shock and collapse from exposure. This report says these ingredients are rocket fuel.  Wow.

And the most important thing is…

…they don’t know what to do about it — except wait for it to be “dissipated” by the wind.

Not feeling too confident with that *solution*, I went looking for disposal recommendations.

Ferric chloride disposal: don’t put it down the drain because of residual copper.  Great. So this orange cloud will eventually end up in the waterways and then the soil.  Apparently, it’s used in etching stuff, and what is really scary is that apparently anyone can buy it –whether they know how to dispose of it properly or not.  Mindboggling that the first poster on this site bought this toxic stuff with no knowledge of how it is to be disposed of — and only asked the question in passing.  He’s the dangerous type that doesn’t know what he’s doing and apparently couldn’t give a rat’s behind on the environment.  Dangerous.  His brainlessness not only will affect him, but the others who come in contact with the ferric chloride after he disposes of it (by probably putting it down the drain).

Apparently it can be neutralized with washing soda, but what does that mean, exactly?  Not being a chemistry person, I’m curious as to what their definition of neutralize is?  Because my experience with the chemical industry is not one of safety nor of transparency, so when they say that a chemical can be made harmless with another material, I’m a bit skeptical.

Hold onto your seats, gang, because we’ve only just started —

Here is the Oklahoma State University website’s discussion on what to do with chemicals used on campus for nitric acid.

Again, nitric acid cannot be disposed of in water.  Note that heavy metals are also included in this bunch.  Toxic, toxic, toxic stuff.

So, further down, you see the step-by-step guidelines for neutralizing the acid.  Note that it releases carbon dioxide while being neutralized.  Carbon dioxide, folks — releasing more toxins into the air.  Is this a solution? Doesn’t appear that way to me — a toxin transformed into another toxin is STILL a toxin!

But, wait, here’s another website which really lays it out there plain and simple –nitric acid is bad news:

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So…this stuff can cause blindness in addition to the stuff mentioned before.

Even more telling is that there have been no tests on mutagenic (affecting cells such as DNA) properties of this chemical.  That is outrageous considering its high level of toxicity.  Anything that toxic should have been tested for its effects on our cell growth.

There is such apathy towards chemicals — especially those in fragrances, fabric softeners, laundry detergents, etc.–that needs to stop.  I blame the media for a large part of this –they have not prominently featured the hazards of chemicals and the trail of toxins flowing into the air, the water, the soil, and our bodies.   We are kept in the dark.  Some of us don’t want to know because we don’t want to deal with it –because dealing with it would mean giving up conveeeniences.  So be it.  I’m with the ones who want to know and want to find non-chemical solutions or if there are none, then eliminating those aspects of industry that are toxic for us and all of nature.  If we don’t, it will eventually catch up to us, as I fear it has begun to already.

Even more so, in my opinion….the latest in jaw-dropping blind obedience is this measles hysteria.  It is absolutely true that the media can intensify the desire to follow authority blindly without questioning their motives, their biases, any financial incentives,  and when they make it seem that everyone else is “on board” but YOU.  Yes, YOU there standing all by yourself when everyone else is on their side.  You’re just too stupid to understand.  You’re a troublemaker.  You’re one of those “lone wolves” the terror experts are always talking about….yeah, we’ve got YOUR number!

Business Insider has a good article on the Milgram experiment and its relevance to today.  Incredibly, there are some saying that this happened in the 60s, and we are much more sophisticated now….we would handle things differently.

Um, no.

Survivor, anyone?  Reality shows that gleefully pit people against one another?  The bullying atmosphere of our times that sends young ones into such psychological distress that they commit suicide?  They are all part of the same psychological mindset of getting a thrill on hurting another — whether it be physically or mentally.

I like Matthew Hollander’s take on the Milgram experiment:

Research subjects may say things like ‘I can’t do this anymore’ or ‘I’m not going to do this anymore,’” he said, even those who went all the way to 450 volts. “I understand those practices to be a way of trying to stop the experiment in a relatively aggressive, direct, and explicit way.”

It’s a far cry from Milgram’s idea that the capacity for evil lies dormant in everyone, ready to be awakened with the right set of circumstances. The ability to disobey toxic orders, Hollander said, is a skill that can be taught like any other—all a person needs to learn is what to say and how to say it.