Comment by vel0city | Hacker News Reader

Comment by vel0city | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

We agree table salt (sodium chloride) is generally safe to eat, right? Like, you probably sprinkle it on your food and what not? If I asked you to chug a gallon of water that was 26% salt by weight, you're going to drink it without care? No? I guess you should stop eating foods with sodium chloride!

There's loads of things I use in every day life that I wouldn't want to ingest in odd quantities. I handle gasoline and paint thinner and dishwashing detergents and hand soap every now and then but if you tried to get me to even drink a teaspoon of it I'd probably turn you down. Is the rule now if you wouldn't drink a glass of it you should never handle it in any way?

By the way, please do not drink that 26% salt brine. It will do very terrible things to your body and probably significantly hurt you.

It's one thing to make an academic case in an online forum, that PFAS are not detrimental (at low levels) to human health. But when it gets down to it, would you rather avoid PFAS, or you just don't think they're a problem?

> Is the rule now if you wouldn't drink a glass of it you should never handle it in any way?

Some things are not safe at any level. Lead (Pb) for example. So what about PFAS? Does it accumulate in the body? What are the effects of long-term ingestion?

My question was intended to see just how serious people were, who were making the argument that PFAS weren't a thing to be concerned about.

Sure, I would like to avoid PFAS on things that I regularly eat like takeout containers and the like. I'd probably not go for the Scotchgard coating on my next couch as fibers from the couch's fabric usually get flung into the air and I end up breathing in small tiny amounts and it's a high contact thing overall. But if PFAS improved engine seals means my car will last longer, then sure that sounds great.

I'd avoid drinking a glass of motor oil as well, but I still prefer having my car lubricated at the end of the day.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com