I think you have it exactly right on mercury. I spilled about a pint of
quicksilver on my hands when I was about ten years old and just wiped it off
on my pants (what little actually broke into really tiny balls and got under
my fingernails) and went on playing, rolling around in the dirt, and picking
my nose, habits I've tried to break since that time.
Regarding lead, the dust accumulates in the bottom of type trays and if you
set enough type you can turn your fingers and hands black with that dust. It
washes off with soap and water but clumps in a way that regular dirt and
grime does not. Type-setting shops are notoriously dirty and dusty. Like
Twain I've had a varied career. I set lead type by hand for ten years when I
operated a private handpress. I had 24 type trays full of new and antique
typefaces. I'm sure I had substantial exposure to lead dust. I was also a
fire-fighter in the 1980s for eight years, and took in some smoke from time
to time, and no doubt inhaled some other bad chemicals on accident scenes.
So, when I got adult onset asthma in the 1990s and tests showed damage to my
lungs, I suspected lead or smoke damage, and read everything I could on the
subjects. Doctors were stumped, and from my reading it seems that for lead
or smoke to cause damage you've pretty much got to inhale it or eat it, so I
assumed smoke was the culprit. However, several years later I was diagnosed
with a form of reflux disease that is atypical (no heartburn or outward
symptoms) and began taking Nexium. A week later my asthma was gone and has
never returned in ten years. My lungs are now like new; the rest of me, not
so much. My doctors think the damage to my lungs and esophagus were caused
by acidic gas inhaled while sleeping due to the reflux, a common cause of
adult onset asthma. I can't blame smoke, lead, or mercury. So I will take
Nexium for the rest of my life while my solitary esophagus sleeps on bended
wing in an empty sky. And just to be safe, no more type-setting or
fire-fighting.
The signs and symptoms of mercury and lead poisoning are more numerous than
anything Twain (or I) ever experienced, and Twain's symptoms would seem
easily attributed to other more obvious causes, like smoking and drinking
(and the state of 19th century medicine and hygiene when it came to
infections like staph).
Healthwise, I think the wives and/or daughters of Twain and Howells are much
more interesting subjects, with striking indications of eating disorders and
manic depression, ailments that were not uncommon with wives and daughters
in wealthy or socially prominent families in the 19th century.
.
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB
*************************
You may browse our books at
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sharon McCoy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: Mark's exposure to mercury
> Kevin--what was the process in typesetting that would release a lot of
> lead dust
> (was it powder before they melted it?)?
>
> Carbuncles are caused by a staph infection around hair follicles as I
> understand
> it, so they'd be unrelated, except perhaps to a weakened immune system,
> but that
> doesn't seem to fit.
>
> Re: mercury -- I was curious about this, as my husband was given a ball
> of
> mercury (quicksilver) to play with as a child. He played with it in the
> driveway as it got smaller and smaller, until it disappeared into one of
> the
> cracks, but he has never seemed to take any harm from the experience. No
> mental
> disorders, unless you count marrying me.
>
>
> So far as I understand, the mercury used in quartz milling was
> quicksilver,
> which is elemental mercury
> (http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Quartz_mining/stamp_mill.htm). The
> processes
> vary, but those I've heard of all seem unlikely to result in small
> droplets of
> mercury going into the air to be inhaled.
>
> According to PubMed, "elemental mercury is usually quite harmless if
> touched or
> swallowed. It is so thick and slippery that it usually falls off your
> skin or
> out of your stomach without being absorbed. Considerable damage can
> occur,
> however, if mercury is made airborne into small, little droplets and
> breathed
> into the lungs" --as in, never vacuum up a spill. A good list of the
> different
> types of mercury poisoning and their symptoms can be found here:
>
>
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0003126/
>
> Elemental mercury poisoning can lead to difficulty breathing, permanent
> lung
> damage, and death, but as Twain lived so long past the exposure, it seems
> likely
> that the smoking and bronchitis are more closely related, and there were
> so many
> other factors, environmental and infectious that could contribute to lung
> issues. Pat, if you're online, interested, and it wouldn't give away too
> much of
> your new work, maybe you'd weigh in?
>
>
> Cheers,
> Sharon
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Tue, July 5, 2011 3:48:12 PM
> Subject: Re: Mark's exposure to mercury
>
> Twain seemed always to be suffering from bronchitis or carbuncles, neither
> of which are caused by mercury so far as I know, and both were common
> ailments in those days, from common causes having nothing to do with heavy
> metals. Twain also had high exposure to lead dust by virtue of his early
> typesetting days, but his health issues don't seem evidence of
> lead-poisoning either. In fact, for a heavy-smoking 19th century person he
> lived a long active life. I understand he had unimpaired mental acuity as
> well.
>
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
> 9307 Glenlake Drive
> Austin TX 78730
> 512-345-4139
> Member: ABAA, ILAB
> *************************
> You may browse our books at
> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ben Wise
>> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 12:18 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Mark's exposure to mercury
>>
>> Mercury poisoning symptoms "typically include sensory impairment
>> (vision,
>> =
>> h=3D earing, speech), disturbed sensation and a lack of coordination.
>> The
>> t=
>> ype and degree of symptoms exhibited depend upon the individual toxin,
>> the
>> =
>> dose, a=3D nd the method and duration of exposure." 20
>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning)
>>
>> Does this "explain much of his behavior and some of his illness we hear
>> abo=
>> ut"? If so, can you cite examples or references?
>>
>> Just curious.
>>
>> Ben
>
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3745 - Release Date: 07/05/11
>
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3747 - Release Date: 07/06/11
>
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3747 - Release Date: 07/06/11
|
