Who exactly to they think they're fooling?
The EPA declared that "the fate of all the mercury consumed
at mercury-cell chlor-alkali plants remains somewhat of an
enigma."
In the U.S., consumption of corn sweeteners
is
~ 80 lbs per person.
Roughly 75% of that is high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup is created in a corn wet-milling
process.
Chemicals for this process are made at
chlor-alkali
plants.
Older chlor-alkali plants utilize a "mercury cell" process.
The process electrolyzes saltwater and produces sodium
hypochlorite (NaOCl).
The same plants also creates sodium hydroxide (NaOH), often called lye or caustic soda.
The process takes place in an electrolytic cell, where
liquid mercury (Hg) acts as a cathode.
Hg attracts sodium (Na) cations to form an amalgam.
NaOCl gas collects at a graphite anode.
The amalgam is added to water where Na reacts to form NaOH
and H.
Hg gets left behind and reused.
Mercury is highly volatile and contamination occurs
throughout the process.
Both the product and the wastewater stream end up
containing
some
mercury.
This
report
documents 65 tons of mercury lost during one year of
production at nine chlor-alkali plants in the U.S.
Similarly 96 tons of mercury were lost at plants in Europe.
The EPA declared that "the fate of all the mercury consumed
at mercury-cell chlor-alkali plants remains somewhat of an
enigma."
Original Post here:
http://www.sailhome.org/Concerns/BodyBurden/Sources3/CornSyrup.html
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