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Not sure I agree/understand, but it seems like if I’m inhaling 2x the poison over the same amount of time, that has exactly 2x the impact/risk on your health.

This isn’t the same as something like a virus, where it’s more binary.

To be clear, I’m not arguing to prove I’m right (because I’m certainly not an expert and am open to being wrong), I’m trying to understand more about how particle inhalation can have varying risks (or not) based on density.



TFA article says the stuff gets in your lungs and stays there. Are you trying to figure out whether you should wear protection for x% silica containing materials? Seems like a fool's errand.


Not at all, I actually wear a mask when just sweeping the garage. :) I certainly think there should be regulation requiring masks in industries like this — and I will definitely wear a mask the next time I’m around any sort of countertop dust.

I’m mostly just curious about the science, and whether/why it is more binary than I’m understanding, vs. just taking some random HN strangers’ words.


Basically the point is—a poison cloud is a bad thing to expose yourself to!




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