The Bear's Key Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Or maybe a cool thou? What is the lesson here? Maybe they'll know better from now on. And be glad they're not in China. Authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the milk scandal, including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted. *ouch* The scenarios beg a question. And I'll put it to you, the science forumer. Were these problems uncovered because the market corrected things (with its nifty invisible hand), or because of government regulations? Don't forget about lead in toys and so many other joys we get from unregulated nations. My answer is below. Don't peek until you've answered. (the winky face is keeping an eye out) [hide]In this case.....government regulation. However, it's often both the market and the government combined who provide the best mechanism for ensuring the safety of products. Anyone telling us it's entirely one or the other is usually a politician -- although we do rarely hear any calling for "small market" [/hide]
Pangloss Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 "The winky face is keeping an eye out", lol. Good one. He almost got me, too!
ParanoiA Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Ha! I totally cheated. And winky face didn't do anything. No bolt of lightening, no unexplained sudden dissappearance, nothing. I'm still right here drinking my morning cof
The Bear's Key Posted February 7, 2009 Author Posted February 7, 2009 (edited) I'm gonna have to put the job to someone with better eyes. [hide]This one sees all. [/hide] Edited February 7, 2009 by The Bear's Key humor tweaking
jorge1907 Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 The lead in toys was a political issue, raised against the sitting admin in an election period. It had nothing to do with health - no one was injured and the exposure was of no consequence. The milk (presume melamine) did lead to injury and I think death. The question would be knowledge and motivation. A fine is hardly appropriate any more than should be the consequences of the violations for salmonella in peanuts.
D H Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 The lead in toys was a political issue, raised against the sitting admin in an election period. It had nothing to do with health - no one was injured and the exposure was of no consequence. It had everything to do with health. The body excretes lead at an extremely low rate. Ingested lead, like mercury, tends to stay in the body and interferes with a number of bodily and mental functions. From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002473.htm (emphasis mine): Lead is a very strong poison. When a person swallows a lead object or inhales lead dust, some of the poison can stay in the body and cause serious health problems. A single high, toxic dose of lead can cause severe emergency symptoms. However, it is more common for lead poisoning to build up slowly over time. This occurs from repeated exposure to small amounts of lead.[/b'] In this case, there may not be any obvious symptoms, but the lead can still cause serious health problems over time, such as difficulty sleeping or lowered IQ in children.
npts2020 Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 It had everything to do with health. The body excretes lead at an extremely low rate. Ingested lead, like mercury, tends to stay in the body and interferes with a number of bodily and mental functions. From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002473.htm (emphasis mine): Yeah, but it seems as if for some people there is no harm unless someone immediately dies.
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