UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata Treaty Provisions

Re:UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata ... by KarlKemp on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @02:03AM (#30839323)

Mercury is just straight up nasty stuff. It causes cancer. It makes you stupid. It is one leading hypothesis as the reason violent crime happened at 2x or 3x the rate just 50 years ago.

The collapse of the Roman Empire probably wasn’t caused by Mercury poisoning. But just being considered a legitimate contender for that role is impressively scary.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata ... by rsynnott on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @08:54AM (#30841873)

The main concern for Romans was lead, not mercury. Not due to pipes, as commonly believed, so much as due to the fact that they _used lead salts to flavor food_.

This also, of course, didn't cause the fall of the empire.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata ... by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @09:20AM (#30842183)

> so much as due to the fact that they _used lead salts to flavor food_

I believe it was also common to sweeten wine by leaving it in lead carafes.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata ... by chipsa on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @10:23AM (#30842917)

It's the "Lead-crime" hypothesis, not "mercury-crime" hypothesis, largely driven by the phase out of leaded gasoline and lead paint, and correlated drops in crime after that.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UN Bans Mercury Satellite Propellants Under New Minamata ... by KarlKemp on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @12:30PM (#30844741)

Yea, of course! Thanks for noticing! I believe the two do have similar risk profiles. Lead has always been more abundant and used, however.

[ Parent | on HN ]