Submitted by Professional_Try_384 t3_y0x6wp in askscience
[deleted] t1_irx9mfz wrote
Reply to comment by BluetoothXIII in What makes mercury so toxic? by Professional_Try_384
The mercury reduced the sulfhydryl bonds in the sheep's wool, making felt.
[deleted] t1_irzlixy wrote
[removed]
Professional_Try_384 OP t1_ism6boy wrote
So does that mean it can be in that with no effect on people around it?
[deleted] t1_isolo2u wrote
The mercury acts as a catalyst, so it isn't consumed per se, so that afterwards, all of it can be removed from the felt. I am sure if you were to take a victorian era piece of felt you would find some mercury in it. But in terms of the victorians, their wallpaper was much more dangerous. It was a bright green color loved by the middle class. The problem was it was made with Chromium VI, which when exposed to moisture, would end up in the victorians.
Zavaldski t1_ity5piz wrote
The green color was from arsenic, not hexavalent chromium.
Even more toxic.
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