>---------------------------------------
>From: Carla Almaraz <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 19:14:29 -0800 (PST)
>Subject: Issue 1000 + Cedar Shavings
 
[I'll probably be writing something about the 1000th issue of the FML
shortly.  I'm going to start acting more like a regular subscriber
than a moderator-god ;-)  Bill and I haven't discussed the switchover
much, so nothing's cast in concrete yet.  I don't think I'll be
disappearing on the toll of #1000.  Maybe a little later.  Maybe
not.  It's a lot easier now that I'm not handling subscriptions at
all.]
 
>Second thing is a request for information.  Our ferret club is trying to
>convince Scamps Pet Stores (in the Pacific Northwest) to quit using cedar
>shavings.
>... Scamps says that there have
>never been ANY studies done regarding a correlation between cedar (or any
>other kind of shavings) and ferrets. They said they would quit using
>shavings if we could show them any kind of scientific study proving our
>point.
 
Cedar wood dust is proven to cause skin irritation, eye irritation,
repiratory problems and even some cancers (primarily nasal if I recall
correctly) in human beings.  The natural chemicals in cedar (and juniper
and redwood etc.) that make it relatively rot resistant work by
poisoning the organisms that cause rot.  So, it can't come as too
much of a surprise that these same chemicals are also toxic to other
life.  Such as people.
 
I can personally attest to the hazards of breathing cedar dust.  I
had a severe reaction to it while building my son's playset, and
it took almost a week for my breathing to get back to normal and
for the pain to subside.
 
Note as well, the "cedar shavings" we're mostly familiar with are
actually juniper shavings.  Juniper is often called "aromatic cedar".
The warnings about cedar apply even more strongly with juniper, because
juniper's chemistry is more potent than cedar.  All you need do is take
a fresh swatch of juniper branch (from a handy neighborhood garden)
in, scrape it on the back of the store-owner's hand, and wait 10 minutes.
*Then* they'll believe it's toxic.
 
NIOSH, the US government agency that sets workplace standards,
recognizes this fact and imposes a number of minimal safety standards
(such as dust collection, air-borne particulate maximums, dust masks
etc) on all workplaces that work with cedar.  These same warnings also
applies to redwood, juniper (aromatic cedar) and several other woods.
 
Many species of wood are highly toxic.  Some will even cause severe
skin burns, and relatively small quantities can kill you.  Satinwood,
for example, can kill you if you burn it and breath any of the smoke.
Most of the domestically grown woods are non-toxic - maple for example
is usually considered completely non-toxic.  Cedar, juniper and redwood
are considered the most toxic of "common" domestic woods.  Of the
domestic woods, the only ones listed as worse than cedar are Mimosa
and Oleander which are rated as "very toxic".
 
You can obtain the regulations from NIOSH, and the discussion of the
toxicity of various woods can be found in many places.  If I really
have to, I can probably find one of the articles in a back issue
of Better Homes and Gardens "WOOD" magazine that lists some of this.
 
While Scamps could claim that there *still* isn't any proof that it
harms ferrets because this information applies to humans, I'd consider
this to be flagrant hair-splitting.
--
Every once in a while I write something that someone might use
in a signature.  So I go back and make it real spiffy.  No luck.
Then some guy goes and uses *that* dog.  Argh!
[Posted in FML issue 1000]