Mercury poisoning

[Fullpan]

I watched a national news story tonight about a man who was diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Wasn't enough info, but the guy
was a credible business exective type. He said he ate at least two meals of fish per day (ocean varieties) because he heard fish was healthy.
His main symptom was loss of balance. After treatments?, he said he was about 75% recovered, but probably be never 100%
again.

 

[Oakview2]

With no dredging in Cali, no one to remove the old timers mercury from the old hydraulic operations, or any of the natural mercury occuring where current water in cutting through natural cinnibar deposits. It is only going to get worse.

 

[gold tramp]

We used mercury for years in the milling process, we had an amalgamater that held about 25 lb charge. 1/2 5 gal bucket.
i wore a mecury mask and took chelating pills.
years later i had a guy from a hazmat come out to check my property and give me an estamate to clean up.
he had a very intresting tool that sniffed for hg. First place he test is my truck it was contaminated.
our lab was real bad every part was contaminated. the tool had an alarm that sounded when contamination was high.
the house that was there was bad also.
the panning station and ground around it was bad. we had tracked Hg every where we went on our shoes.

This guy wants to see my Hg saftey equip i show him he laughs tells me its worthless junk,
I probably got a little poisning, that guy your talking about must have been a whimp.Or wanting to sue someone.

I worked in that lab for years, buckets of Hg stored in there
doc says no poisining.
Hg is not that bad its kinda got a bad name at the hands of do gooders that dont want us to mine.
thats my opinon on Hg. I couldnt recover my values without it.
The process for cleanup was ventilate, if it was elamental mercury i think they used sulfur powder. sweep it up.
Cpt Herb.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Gold tramp, the elemental mercury you worked with is not nearly as dangerous as the form found in fish. If you eat a LOT of tuna as that guy did (I know the whole story) you really can get poisoned to the point of having symptoms.

Mine it and recycle it!

 

[Fullpan]

Kevin - care to add anything? I was "zoned out" when it came on.

Gold tramp - have read a couple stories like yours concerning HazMat clean-up, they (Calif. Dept. of Toxic Substance Control) tend to overeact by thousands
of dollars on est. clean-up costs.

 

[austin]

Mercury has been dumped in the waters of the Pacific for years. It is mainly from industrial waste(leaking barrels). It has moved up the food chain and tuna, like many other fish, are affected. There have been deaths starting in the late 1970's when a mom in the midwest somewhere opened a can of tuna, fed it to her kids and they died. There are warnings about fish consumption constantly released by medical researchers and national health organizations. These warnings are directed to everyone, especially pregnant women. Check it out online. I promise you that this information is factual. Beyond all the nonsence I post, I taught science(Chemistry, Biology, Integrated Physics and Chemistry) for 25+ years. BE CAREFUL how much fish and what types you and your family consume. Oh, the Cousteau Society went to Anarctica, killed and tested penquins and found mercury concentrations in their livers. This was early 80's(I think) and proved that even the most pristine waters on earth are polluted with mercury...

 

[midnightmoon]

austin - -

The mercury pollution - - is that mostly after-human useage; or does cinnabar leach it?

 

[Astrobouncer]

This video explains it pretty well.

 

[gold tramp]

This video explains it pretty well.

I cant see any thing on the black box, but im not one to beleive what i watch on a video.
so not knowing what im looking at heres my take.


I would be more worried with the human waste that you all have been dumping into the water table.
you all on the east coast have been dumping for how many years?

I would worry about the build up of birth control drug residue. in the eco system long before i would worry about Hg. Its a natural occuring elemant that is i believe getting a bad rap at hands of wrong doers.
I think you all are all ready seeing a decline in small fish and ampibians Chk me if im wrong. Birds yet?

With out Hg I cant recover my gold values and im sure there are a lot of other industrsy that rely on Hg in there processes that make our lifes so easy.
Think where this country would be without mining and the important chemicals that go with it.

IF YOU GOT IT ITS BEEN MINED OR GROWN.

So as miners all being equal as we all seek the same thing to hold, an gaze upon the golden color in your hand. and say to yourself I found gold !
As miners we owe the souls before us, that blazed that trail that we now follow ,
The respect to all come together and save gold mining as we know it. to keep this great land open.

And make it possible for future genarations to have the hands expierance of finding gold, without having to pay to mine.
Or having to go see mining on some you boob video.

Its our right as Americans to freely pick up all the rocks we want for free!
On west coast we dont have pay to mine its free as it should be.

So lets jump on the mining wagon so we can all enjoy the gold.
If youall give the doo gooders the upper hand we will have nothing.

And how much Hg, gold, and other metals go into making your computer ?
So Hg?
Cpt Herb

 

[gold tramp]

Kevin - care to add anything? I was "zoned out" when it came on.

Gold tramp - have read a couple stories like yours concerning HazMat clean-up, they (Calif. Dept. of Toxic Substance Control) tend to overeact by thousands
of dollars on est. clean-up costs.

I will try dig up my report for you to look at. I have pics also
The guy that came out to chk my property did the job for free just to try out his new equipment fresh out of the box.
I think he said it cost $9000 ?

So he was not trying to jack me up or anything, and told me just provide better saftey equipment. and shave.
And dont use a vaccum to clean up Hg, Ken L. you idiot
I have never heard anything again i was dealing with code enforcment and going through a law suit with mining partners over my property. I lost
great topic.
Cpt Herb.

 

[gold tramp]

Mercury has been dumped in the waters of the Pacific for years. It is mainly from industrial waste(leaking barrels). It has moved up the food chain and tuna, like many other fish, are affected. There have been deaths starting in the late 1970's when a mom in the midwest somewhere opened a can of tuna, fed it to her kids and they died. There are warnings about fish consumption constantly released by medical researchers and national health organizations. These warnings are directed to everyone, especially pregnant women. Check it out online. I promise you that this information is factual. Beyond all the nonsence I post, I taught science(Chemistry, Biology, Integrated Physics and Chemistry) for 25+ years. BE CAREFUL how much fish and what types you and your family consume. Oh, the Cousteau Society went to Anarctica, killed and tested penquins and found mercury concentrations in their livers. This was early 80's(I think) and proved that even the most pristine waters on earth are polluted with mercury...

Where in San Antonio you live.
I used to live on austin hwy close to fort sam. built houses for years.
I left theres no gold !!

Ever try to breath on a hot friday afternoon 4 o clck loop 410. thats by far worse than Hg.
And you guys get your water from an aqiufer ck me if im wrong.

You all go through longs periods of dry weather the build of heavy particulates from all that traffic settles on the ground.
and is washed into your aquifer when it rains.
Ck me if im wrong rain is the only way you can refill the aquifer.

So yes all the waters of the earth are polluted but air borne particulates are far worse Than Hg. How many vehicles in this world ?
Be carefull how much water you drink!!!!
Cpt Herb.

 

[gold tramp]

Gold tramp, the elemental mercury you worked with is not nearly as dangerous as the form found in fish. If you eat a LOT of tuna as that guy did (I know the whole story) you really can get poisoned to the point of having symptoms.

Mine it and recycle it!

Elemental Hg is not the same as Hg vapor two differant critters, there are organic forms i think also ?
I have used this and absorbed through my lungs, skin. eating it is no differant in fact breathing the vapor
is by far worse than the small amounts you get in tuna once again do you believe evrything you read?
sure Hg is poison and i will no doubt in the long run have some poisoning.

But breathing the air on smoggy hot days is by far worse than Hg
If we could ask our grandkids in 2099 If they were worried about Hg.
I think the topic would be more like help me i cant breathe.
Cpt Herb

 

[KevinInColorado]

Right, multiple forms are in the environment with differing toxicity. Most of the stuff in the fish comes from burning coal - mining, light bulbs, etc are trivial by comparison. We scrub the mercury out of our coal smoke in the US so most of the emissions are coming from countries like china and india. Here is some detail on the methyl mercury which is dangerous to humans (etc): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

Mine it and recycle it!

 

[Astrobouncer]

I cant see any thing on the black box, but im not one to beleive what i watch on a video.
so not knowing what im looking at heres my take.

Cpt Herb

Why would you comment on something that you didn't watch or even have a clue about what they are talking about?

You are preaching to the choir on all those things you mention. This video isn't about any of that nor does it put mining in a bad light, its a video with some highly specialized doctors talking about the specific effects of methyl mercury on humans (which mostly comes from eating fish from the ocean) and one guys personal experience with it. It goes into as much detail as I have seen anywhere on the subject of methyl mercury. If you choose not to watch it I could care less ignorance is bliss but don't bad mouth something when you haven't even seen it.

 

[gold tramp]

Why would you comment on something that you didn't watch or even have a clue about what they are talking about?

You are preaching to the choir on all those things you mention. This video isn't about any of that nor does it put mining in a bad light, its a video with some highly specialized doctors talking about the specific effects of methyl mercury on humans (which mostly comes from eating fish from the ocean) and one guys personal experience with it. It goes into as much detail as I have seen anywhere on the subject of methyl mercury. If you choose not to watch it I could care less ignorance is bliss but don't bad mouth something when you haven't even seen it.

Look all your doing is flapping your gums why dont you get off the, you boob and do some real mining.
Did you even read what i had to say ?
You guys are to smart for me f- it im going mining.
I got some realy nice gold sample boxs, Ck out www,bbminingco.com
Cpt herb.

 

[MadMarshall]

Look all your doing is flapping your gums why dont you get off the, you boob and do some real mining.
Did you even read what i had to say ?
You guys are to smart for me f- it im going mining.
I got some realy nice gold sample boxs, Ck out www,bbminingco.com
Cpt herb.

I'm just goin to walk away from this thread.... Wish I was prospecting herb but river is to dangerous to walk with the hard freeze in my area the last few days.. In regards to your webpage.
"We are professional rock, mineral and crystal pocket hunters - Hard rock gold pocket hunters. Our location is Twentynine Palms CA, We have 30 years experience hunting n' locating rocks/minerals.
Were just plain ole desert folk."
Was just wonderin if you had 30 people in your employment with a year of exp each? Also do people really pay you to watch sheep seems like most of your services are geared for people who are lazy. "Must have own vehicle we supply the labor and tools.
we have collected at the sites, so theres no guessing were to find the goods we have done that for you, A guide will hike out to site with you and show what and where to look, And carry your finds back to your rig.
If you are not able to do the walking (most spots require hiking) we will be glad to bring a decent amount of good material to you.
Just visiting some of the collecting sites is worth the trip out.There are some really unique geological features in our collecting areas."
Sound like a waste of money and time to me!!! Do you even have rights to these lands or you just bringing them to public places that anyone so inclined could rock and gem hunt?
I only speak for myself of course but that webpage you been trying to promote and those ore sample you trying to sell is wasted effort as I am not in this forum to have people hold me by the hand and show me where to dig or to even buy paydirt or rocks ect My sole interest lie in the knowledge of prospecting an related topics.


AND FOR SOMEONE WHO IS A PART OR HAS THEMSELF 30 YEARS OF EXPERIANCE I FIND IT ODD THAT HE NOT SURE IF HE CAN DIG ON LOCATABLE GROUND SOUNDS FISHY!! Herb you must pardon me adressing as capt. as I would feel stupid in doing so!!

 

[gold tramp]

I'm just goin to walk away from this thread.... Wish I was prospecting herb but river is to dangerous to walk with the hard freeze in my area the last few days.. In regards to your webpage.
"We are professional rock, mineral and crystal pocket hunters - Hard rock gold pocket hunters. Our location is Twentynine Palms CA, We have 30 years experience hunting n' locating rocks/minerals.
Were just plain ole desert folk."
Was just wonderin if you had 30 people in your employment with a year of exp each? Also do people really pay you to watch sheep seems like most of your services are geared for people who are lazy. "Must have own vehicle we supply the labor and tools.
we have collected at the sites, so theres no guessing were to find the goods we have done that for you, A guide will hike out to site with you and show what and where to look, And carry your finds back to your rig.
If you are not able to do the walking (most spots require hiking) we will be glad to bring a decent amount of good material to you.
Just visiting some of the collecting sites is worth the trip out.There are some really unique geological features in our collecting areas."
Sound like a waste of money and time to me!!! Do you even have rights to these lands or you just bringing them to public places that anyone so inclined could rock and gem hunt?
I only speak for myself of course but that webpage you been trying to promote and those ore sample you trying to sell is wasted effort as I am not in this forum to have people hold me by the hand and show me where to dig or to even buy paydirt or rocks ect My sole interest lie in the knowledge of prospecting an related topics.


AND FOR SOMEONE WHO IS A PART OR HAS THEMSELF 30 YEARS OF EXPERIANCE I FIND IT ODD THAT HE NOT SURE IF HE CAN DIG ON LOCATABLE GROUND SOUNDS FISHY!! Herb you must pardon me adressing as capt. as I would feel stupid in doing so!!

I am sorry that me catering to the needs of folks that have had their bodys mutilated by I.E.Ds bothers you.
or our older veterans who cant make it out and collect, Im sorry that bothers you.
my services for those folks are absulutly free.
Does my 30 years of mining rocks bother you, you dont have go to my site, And it speaks for its self.
Im not to worried what you think.

Let the people who enjoy my site speak!! Let them tell you what they think.

But do chk out the adventures of Cpt Herb n Crew.

 

[Fullpan]

Thanks, AB - the video cleared up several questions on a personal level for me. And that was the same guy (CEO of IMAX)

 

[Goldwasher]

Fact Mercury when used improperly WILL poison you. Fact....More of it has been introduced to the environment by humans in the recent past then natural processes will have introduced so intelligence would suggest that we pay attention to the wheres or whys when someone gets sick...and it has been found to be Mercury and other chemicals ...it can't be denied are concentrated and causing cancers and illness....That is a subject the masses should deal with... As far as gold and its use in the recovery of it.....It can be very dangerous.....and at this point isn't necessary.....even in hard rock uses...there are safer and easier ways to recover micro gold...the problem when your a fairly decent Placer miner you are just gonna have to deal with it because a majority of the good spots will have mercury lost by the old timers attaching to the gold they also lost and the stuff it has come across since. The argument thet the Hg on the gold you find is from Natural sources is Just plain B.S.....and not a point of argument as to why it is safe....also Different people react differently to different things...some people have literally turned PERMANENTLY GRAY....from colloidal silver and some have used it with no ill effects...Herb from 29 palms you have been posting since Dec. of last year and Astrobouncer Has been posting here way Longer and is a very respected poster and Knowledgable prospector his response to you was spot on and your rebuttle was over the top and unnecessary...MMarshall you have shown you can find gold...however as you admitted you get a little hot headed and in reviewing your previous posts a lot border on negative or just High and Mighty.....just tone it down a little man the experience level on these forums varies greatly.....the majority will learn a lot from you and you will also benifit from the "Old Hands" on these posts.

 

[kuger]

Very well stated Pville....great to point out the natural occuring Hg. I spoke of is miniscule and not what we encounter in our waterways.I forget the exact numbers now,but in the late 1860's-70's,there were hundreds of thousands of pounds of Merc being used in the state.....by 1880,1/8 of that was accounted for......................I will say again....I hate it,it turns your gold gray,which you then have to clean and then its bright fake looking yellow........and it poisonous