ZINC POISONING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3783, 28 January 1908, Page 3

ZINC POISONING.

Though there is no reason for alarm in the suburbs where the water supply is of the primitive roof-and-tank description, it is suspected that cases of mild zinc poisoning which have occurred were due to the ingestion of water from tanks containing the zinc poison in solution, says the N.Z. Times. This suggestion has not reached the stage pf certainty, but as the matter is an important one, affecting the health of a large section of the community, the District Health Officer (Dr Frengley) is collecting samples of water from various household tanks and submitting them to Dr. Maclaurin, Colonial Analyst, for examination and report. A theory which has been advanced to account for some mild cases of zinc-poisoning is that the roofs of houses exposed to a brine-laden wind catch a certain amount of the salt, and the alkali sets up chemical action upon the galvanised iron, freeing some of the zinc-poison. The amount liberated is so minute that it would not appreciably affect the water in a full tank, but while water evaporates, the poison does not, and the tanks are now in a low state, the poison therefore being more concentrated. Dr. Maclaurin’s investigations will settle whether this is the explanation, and if so, an easy remedy can be suggested.