> Less than 0.1 mL is capable of inducing severe mercury poisoning resulting in death
Holy hell. I would've have believed it was possible for a non-biological substance to be so toxic.
Holy hell. I would've have believed it was possible for a non-biological substance to be so toxic.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide_poisoning
> A fatal dose for humans is on average 1.52 mg/kg of body weight
Assuming 80kg(175pounds), that's like 120mg of Cyanide.
There is probably even more nasty stuff.
You may also be thinking of phosgene, which actually contains no phosphorous at all. But it is extremely toxic see the LC50: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene
I guess it's a biological product, but it's certainly not "living".
Then there's carfentanil and similar which are deadly only at much higher 100 microgram levels.
By the time I first took chemistry classes, though, that practice had stopped, less out of concern of exposure to liquid mercury and more for accidental exposure to gaseous forms due to spills.
One way to familiarize students with mercury was to have several liters of it in a wide open-top jar and have them force their fist through the mercury pool to the bottom of the jar.
In fact, forcing one's hand through mercury between six to eight inches deep is not easy, some kids found it too difficult to do.
I'd describe my hand as feeling very squeezed and it being forced upwards to the surface with considerable force. The experience was certainly unforgettable.
There were some safety protocols: good ventilation (to minimize Hg vapor) and afterwards hands had to be thoroughly scrubbed with soap and water.