Bob Harrison wrote: > Around two years ago beekeepers from Germany started reporting beekeepers > using OA had contracted a rare from of cancer. All the same type of cancer. > The last report I had heard was 6 had died. The update was on another list > but could be found. Vapor or drip? It sounds like vapor. I get more OA tending my rhubarb patch than with the drip method. I tried google to find anything on this and could not, but I did fine lots of sites that recommended ingesting high amounts of OA to cure cancer and almost every other aliment around. Same for formic. I would not think of it. If it is true, that it is a carcinogen and is the vapor method, it would fit into a common (in chemistry) problem of a hazard that is not usually a hazard when used in its normal state. I do not know of many uses of OA as a vapor but many as a liquid. So the industries where it is used in liquid form have lots of history on its long term problems. In that state it is harmful but not know to be a major health issue. Beekeepers are finding the long term problems when it is used as a vapor. There were several posts on the immediate hazards of OA as a vapor and they were dismissed since the manufacturer of the equipment said it was safe to use that way. Problem is, we do not know the long term hazards. I recall, when I was in graduate work, of two researchers who died working on what was considered a fairly safe chemical, but they were working with it in the vapor state. They even used ventilation but still were poisoned over a long period. My prof made sure I got the picture, since I also was working on several chemicals that were in a vapor state and normally solid. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---