Hazards Around the House
Most of us realize that chemicals have to be treated with respect and handled properly. But there are some everyday chemicals that can be hazardous when mixed together. For example, many household cleaners can react violently when mixed. Some can produce highly toxic gases such as chlorine, the poisonous gas used in World War One.
Chlorine bleaches are essentially solutions of chlorine in water. If acids are added to these, the toxic chlorine gas is produced almost immediately. If these chlorine bleaches are mixed with household cleaners containing ammonia, a toxic eye and lung irritant called chloramine is produced.
Even something as innocuous as baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, can cause big trouble. In one case, a gentleman developed indigestion after consuming a bowl of chili, two martinis, and a glass of wine. His stomach ruptured when he followed his meal with a glass of water mixed with a spoonful of baking soda.
So even something seemingly as safe as an antacid, if taken on an overly full stomach, can be dangerous. You see, sodium bicarbonate decomposes to carbon dioxide and water. If the stomach is overly full, the carbon dioxide gas must go somewhere. If there is no place for it to go the stomach can burst like an over inflated balloon.
So next time you use a household chemical, take the warning on the label seriously. Even grocery store items can kill you.
Today’s Science Short warns us of the unexpected results we may get from mixing two or more household chemicals together. My brother once cleared a 150-seat dining room when, as a pot scrubber in the adjacent kitchen, he mixed chlorine bleach and an ammonia-based cleaner. Not only can this happen it really does happen!
Ignorance of the law is not a defence in court. Ignorance of the laws of science will not protect us from noxious vapours in the kitchen or bathroom. Neither does ignorance protect us from any other negative consequence of our behaviour. So it is appropriate for us to learn as much as possible about both the natural and moral realms to avoid embarrassing and even potentially lethal “mistakes.”
One combination which is deadly to relationships is a overly-sensitive spirit in one party and a sarcastic attitude in the other. This is not to condemn or defend either, just to raise the fact that social disasters are possible with some mixes.
Ignorance of the spiritual consequences of our behaviour will not stop us from experiencing them. Knowing about them gives us the option of taking steps to avoid the negative ones and enter fully into the positive ones.
One of the simplest, yet most profound, decisions we’ll ever have to make is the choice between right and wrong. There are, of course, some thorny ethical questions which are very difficult to settle. Yet for most of us, the issues are generally straightforward – much more straightforward than we would often like to admit to ourselves.
Ethical deliberations which place ourselves at the centre of the moral universe are suspect, because if everyone did that we would end up with moral chaos. Those which take others into consideration are more appropriate because the outcome will benefit more individuals and the moral choice will serve as a better example for others looking for guidance.
The best ethical deliberations place God at the centre of the moral universe. This keeps the balance between our own needs, the needs of others and the purposes of God.
David Humphreys and Ron Hughes © August 2004
