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]