Messenger Health Alert

After receiving several queries as to the potential hazards of lead inhalation when shooting, I came across an old MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) extolling the dangers of one of the most dreaded substances known to man. It is all around us yet few know of the dangers.

Dihydrogen Monoxide: Deadly As Deadly Can Be. Here are some of the symptoms of over-exposure:

• Excessive sweating
• Excessive urination
• Bloated feeling
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Hyponatremia (serum hypotonicity)
• Dangerously imbalanced levels of ECF and ICF in the blood
• Degeneration of sodium homeostasis

DHMO has been used:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant,
• in nuclear power plants,
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
• by elite athletes to improve performance,
• in the production of Styrofoam,
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
• in abortion clinics,
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
• as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in furnaces and air conditioning compressor operation,
• in cult rituals,
• by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use),
• by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
• by pedophiles and pornographers (for uses we'd rather not say here),
• by the clientele at a number of homosexual bath houses in New York City and San Francisco,
• historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
• in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
• by the Serbian military as authorized by Slobodan Milosevic in their ethnic cleansing campaign,
• by many terrorist organizations,
• in swimming pools to maintain chemical balance,
• in animal research laboratories, and
• in pesticide production and distribution.

And continues to be employed:

• as an additive to food products, including jarred baby food and baby formula, and even in many soups, carbonated beverages and supposedly "all-natural" fruit juices
• in cough medicines and other liquid pharmaceuticals,
• in spray-on oven cleaners,
• in shampoos, shaving creams, deodorants and numerous other bathroom products,
• in bathtub bubble products marketed to children,
• as a preservative in grocery store fresh produce sections,
• in the production of beer by all the major beer distributors,
• in the coffee available at major coffee houses in the US and abroad,
• in Formula One race cars, although its use is regulated by the Formula One Racing Commission, and
• as a target of ongoing NASA planetary and stellar research.

Curiously enough, and to be honest this always got a laugh out of us, the Emergency First Aid procedure reads as follows:

Do Not Get Dihydrogen Monoxide In Eyes
If Accidentally Introduced Into The Eye, Flush With Dihydrogen Monoxide