On Apr 12, 2004, at 3:00 PM, Mary Conley wrote:
>Petroleum jellly comes from fuel. When oil was discovered in
>Pennsylvania in 1859, (Robt. Cheesebrough) found that a colorless
>film called "rod wax" collected around the pump rods on the oil wells.
>He saw the oil workers slapping the stuff on cuts and began to
>manufacture it.
Just a correction here, on the history and supposed dangers of vaseline
--
According to memoirs which our family have, Erastus Johnson, a distant
cousin, actually invented Vaseline. He and his brother had a small oil
refinery in Pittsburgh. Oil was used more as a motor lubricant than as a
fuel in those days (and petroleum was seen as a cheap modern alternative
to whale oil). But there was an accident which caused the factory and
a great deal of Pittsburgh to burn down. Pittsburgh then passed an
ordinance forbidding refineries within the city limits. So Erastus set
out to produce a lubricating oil that was not flammable. He succeeded.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good motor lubricant. So he gave up on
it and let one of his assistant managers take the formula. A few years
later, the assistant came out with a medical compound, Vaseline.
That is the story according to Erastus's memoirs. I don't know the name
of the manager; it might have been Robert Cheesebrough.
Vaseline was originally used as a digestive tonic. A tablespoon a day
was supposed to keep you 'regular'. Some people still take mineral oil
(also a petroleum product) in this same way. So petroleum jelly has well
over a hundred years of 'testing' and is considered non-toxic. Vaseline
is a brand name; the generic name is petrolatum.
The Material Safety Data Sheet says
"EU main hazards: not classified as hazardous".
"Carcinogenic Status: not considered carcinogenic by NTP, IARC, and OSHA"
"Health Effects: Eyes: Contact may cause slight transient irritation"
"Health Effects - Skin: This product is non-irritating to the skin and
skin absorption is not associated with any health effects."
"Health Effects - Ingestion: A large dose may have the following
effects: - nausea - vomiting - diarrhea - abdominal pain -
intestinal obstruction "
"Firefighting measures: Not Flammable"
As far a ferrets ingesting it occaisionally, or using it to treat wounds
that might be licked, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Of course, I
wouldn't deliberately feed it or let them lick too much of it -- it is
a laxative-- but I think there is a lot of history demonstrating that a
bit of exposure will do no harm.
--Claire C.
(Sam, Frankie, Missy, Louie, Lilo)
[Posted in FML issue 4481]
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