Melissa:

Thank you for correcting me. I did indeed mis-state the issue. It is
not mineral oil itself that is readily absorbed, but contaminants IN
mineral oil when applied to the skin or ingested.

My mistake; mea culpa. Nevertheless, danger still exists because
consumers seldom know ANYTHING about the purity of the mineral oil
they are using, and it acts as a carrier for other substances.

That is a problem because the absorption of chemicals that are
**dissolved in** or carried by mineral oil tends to be quite high:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2254950

Without much difficulty I can find you probably a hundred or more
references to similar papers, about substances carried by or dissolved
in mineral oil being easily absorbed.

I would never use anything less than food grade (which is not something
you usually find in the local variety store), and even then I would be
very cautious.

But your argument about the WHO is facetious. I already stated that it
rates mineral oil as a class 1 to 3 carcinogen, DEPENDING on purity and
refinement. I already took into account the purity and refinement. It
is STILL rated between 1 and 3.

Take that information and do what you want with it, but it is accurate.
If you really insist, yes I will bore everybody with a big list of
citations.

Lonny Eachus

[P.S.]

I would also like to point out this:
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7413414_mineral-oil-harmful_.html
which discusses how ingestion of mineral oil can be detrimental to
health, due to its tendency to carry away or block essential nutrients.

References on the page. Note that they are in reference to mineral oil
that is food grade, and intended for ingestion. Few if any impurities.

[Posted in FML 7545]