A good Laugh?

[PACMAN]

Seeing how its below zero, out I thought it would be a good idea to bring in my 50 pound bag of DE and transfer it into a new can. As I was picking up the bag,and tipping it to dump the contents,The bag riped in half and the bottom part hit the floor.It was like a whiteout in my kitchen.Mywife was gone,and I managed to get it picked up,so I thought. I forgot to dust too. Old hawkeye picked right up on it. Thought everyone would get a kick out of it.

[maple milker]

It sounds like the story my Uncle told of trying to extract honey in the home kitchen. Small droplets flew out everywhere requiring extensive clean up before his wife arrived home!

[maple flats]

Not so funny, the DE is not good to breathe.

[PACMAN]

I know Flats,I opened the kitchen door and the plume went outside. I took in a lot of dust racing motocross for30 plus years. But I will do it outside from now on.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Not so funny, the DE is not good to breathe.
cant be any worse than asbestos and fiberglass insulation.

[eustis22]

food grade DE should be ok

[markct]

It doesnt make a dif food grade. Its bad for your lungs like silicosis

[eustis22]

I dunno..I use FG DE on my cat to fight fleas/ticks and it says it's not only safe to ingest but to breathe as well...but why take a chance?

[markct]

Injest as in eat, even some medicinal uses for it i hear, but when inhaled in your lungs it does bad things

[Ittiz]

Injest as in eat, even some medicinal uses for it i hear, but when inhaled in your lungs it does bad things

Are the particles sharp? If not it should just give your cilia a work out, unless you have asthma of course.

[happy thoughts]

Interesting thread. From what I've read there are two types of DE, the naturally occurring form (used in food grade DE) is mostly in the form called amorphous DE. The heat processed kind used in pool filters and some pesticides is in large part crystalline DE . Of the two, only the crystalline form is potentially hazardous if inhaled. From 20-60% of particles in pool grade DE are small sharp crystals that can cause silicosis with long exposure. Food grade DE contains less than 1% of the crystalline form

http://www.deq.state.or.us/er/docs/LowerBridge/DiatomaceousEarthFactSheet.pdf.

So Pacman you should be safe.... from your better half, too, assuming you've gotten the mess cleaned up:)

[maple flats]

If that's true, why does the bag of Filter Aid have the warnings on it, among other things, do not breathe the dust?

[happy thoughts]

Probably because any dust can be an irritant that can worsen existing respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema. And filter aid can contain a very small amount of the crystalline form of DE. But it takes many years of long exposure to the crystalline form to cause silicosis. The link I left is a pretty good one from the Oregon state environmental department. If you get a chance it's worth reading.

[markct]

Thank you for clearing that all up with the link, I hadn't realized there were two forms of it like that!