[HN Gopher] Scheele's Green, the Color of Fake Foliage and Death
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Scheele's Green, the Color of Fake Foliage and Death
 
Author : conductor
Score  : 46 points
Date   : 2023-03-15 19:36 UTC (3 hours ago)
 
web link (www.theparisreview.org)
w3m dump (www.theparisreview.org)
 
| perihelions wrote:
| - _" Commercial greens are often made with pigment green 7, which
| contains chlorine and can't be recycled or composted safely."_
| 
| ?
 
  | croo wrote:
  | Uhhh what's the problem with chlorine?
  | 
  | Chlorine kills living cells, bad for any living organism in
  | water, most often damaging fish's sensitive gills as well as
  | the skin that covers their entire bodies.
  | 
  | Definitely bad for compost as it kills all the microbes and
  | little fun guys doing the work.
 
    | ray__ wrote:
    | Elemental chlorine maybe, but there's none of that in green
    | 7.
 
  | eganist wrote:
  | Largely for the sake of being snarky, I asked gpt-4 "What risks
  | exist from the usage of green-7 as a pigment, and why can't it
  | be recycled or composted safely?"
  | 
  | It assumed green-7 was hypothetical, so i had to tune the
  | prompt a bit. Second try _[edit: the below is mostly wrong, as
  | evidenced by the wikipedia article linked by perihelions]:_
  | 
  | ---
  | 
  | Phthalocyanine Green G, also known as Pigment Green 7, is a
  | synthetic green pigment derived from copper phthalocyanine. It
  | is commonly used in various industries such as inks, coatings,
  | and plastics due to its stability and excellent color
  | properties. However, there are some risks associated with its
  | usage and disposal:                   Environmental risks: Like
  | many other synthetic pigments, Phthalocyanine Green G is not
  | biodegradable. It can accumulate in the environment,
  | particularly in water bodies, and affect aquatic life. Its
  | presence in water may disrupt ecosystems by inhibiting the
  | growth of certain microorganisms or reducing light penetration,
  | which in turn affects photosynthesis and the overall health of
  | aquatic plants.              Health risks: While Phthalocyanine
  | Green G is generally considered non-toxic for humans, there is
  | still a possibility of health risks when ingested or inhaled in
  | large amounts. Exposure to high concentrations of the pigment
  | can cause respiratory and digestive issues.
  | Occupational hazards: Workers involved in the production,
  | handling, or application of Phthalocyanine Green G may be at
  | risk of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals or dust
  | from the pigment. Proper safety precautions, including wearing
  | personal protective equipment and adequate ventilation, should
  | be taken to minimize these risks.
  | 
  | Phthalocyanine Green G cannot be safely recycled or composted
  | due to its synthetic nature and resistance to degradation.
  | Recycling processes for pigments generally require the
  | separation of the pigment from the material it is applied to,
  | which may not be feasible or efficient for Phthalocyanine Green
  | G. Additionally, composting relies on biodegradation, a process
  | that does not break down synthetic pigments like Phthalocyanine
  | Green G.
  | 
  | Instead of recycling or composting, proper disposal methods for
  | Phthalocyanine Green G should be followed according to local
  | waste management guidelines. This may involve sending the
  | pigment to a landfill or a specialized waste treatment facility
  | where it can be managed safely to minimize environmental and
  | health risks.
 
    | perihelions wrote:
    | Your AI is lost in the wilderness.
    | 
    | - _" Environmental risks: Like many other synthetic pigments,
    | Phthalocyanine Green G is not biodegradable. It can
    | accumulate in the environment, particularly in water bodies,
    | and affect aquatic life. Its presence in water may disrupt
    | ecosystems by inhibiting the growth of certain microorganisms
    | or reducing light penetration, which in turn affects
    | photosynthesis and the overall health of aquatic plants."_
    | 
    | This compound is *not soluble in water*.
    | 
    | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalocyanine_Green_G
 
| baybal2 wrote:
| [dead]
 
| permo-w wrote:
| fascinating article. one brief element I found interesting was
| the government regulation of production materials (arsenic in
| green dye)
| 
| I was genuinely unaware that it went that far back. for whatever
| reason I had the impression that these kinds of laws largely
| began in the post-war era
 
  | _a_a_a_ wrote:
  | Nah, stuff goes way back. Check out
  | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phossy_jaw
  | 
  | "The Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire, in
  | 1872, was the first country to place an absolute ban on the
  | manufacture, use, and sale of white phosphorus in matches,
  | followed by Denmark in 1874 and France in 1897"
 
| addaon wrote:
| > carving breasts into rocks and crafting cloth into petals.
| 
| The anti-parallelism of this phrase is epic.
 
  | StrictDabbler wrote:
  | It is probably a syllepsis, where a governing word or phrase
  | applies differently in multiple contexts. The canonical example
  | is "He hastened put out out the cat, the wine, his cigar and
  | the lamps."
  | 
  | In this case the governing word would be "into" but I'm
  | hesitant because prepositions in English are treated so
  | differently than they are in Latin or Greek. It also verges on
  | paraprosdokian.
  | 
  | Anyway, I love these structures, so thank you for drawing
  | attention to it.
 
    | illiarian wrote:
    | Could you say that the writer's style is... florid?
 
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