a little while ago i was on the public transit in the morning. since i have a regularish work schedule these days i see the same people here and there.

me (and everyone else) was overhearing a conversation by 2 teens. one of them was saying they only drink bottled water at school because they suspect lead contamination in the pipes. (the kids at this school look like rich kids, i don't think there is probably lead but it's not totally impossible i guess.)

after listening to this for a little while i turned around and gave that person friendly but firm lecture that if they think there is lead they should get a testing kit (which is free). [edit: and i told them how to do that.] why let other people drink water with lead? lead is very bad. if there is lead, you could be a hero for finding out. if not actually interested enough to do that, stop being a snob and drink the tap water because municipal water is a gift and you should appreciate it. then it was time for everyone to disembark.

now i see this person sometimes and we mutually actively ignore each other.

what do you think?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Wheaties@hexbear.net 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

~~get a woter bottle, drink it in front of them crinkling it loundly as you do so. Do the satisfying intake of air after big drink and say "yummy microplastics".~~

~~Potential lead poisoning is a funny reason to seek out certain plastic contamination. Downside is that you have to drink from a plastic bottle. But. Cmon. Damage is done already, it's in everybody's guts~~

[–] glans@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

lead is way worse than anything plastics can do to you. if you have the choice between plastic and lead, CHOOSE PLASTIC. ffs. the child isn't wrong on that account.

lots of people who are subject to contamination of water by all kinds of things will choose plastic bottle water instead of whatever pathogen or heavy metal or whatever. I think specifically of indigenous communities which are intentionally targeted for these poisonings.

An Ardent Call to Arms: On Harriet A. Washington’s “A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind”

[–] JohnBrownNote@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

that we know of so far

[–] glans@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

lead is way worse than anything plastics can do to you. if you have the choice between plastic and lead, CHOOSE PLASTIC. ffs.

[–] Wheaties@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

You are right.

I'd like to apologize for my glib response. It was not appropriate for me to suggest plastic contamination is anywhere on par with lead poisoning.