>> and, more importantly, the iron in your bloodstream, causing
>> anaemia.
>
> Oxalic acid is extremely poisonous - I think that you would be dead long
> before suffering anaemia!

Extremely poisonous?

Perhaps, but personally, from what I have seen, I would say *somewhat*
poisonous, and, as with all the common food and household poisons we
routinely contact, inhale or ingest, the effects -- both immediate and
long-term -- vary from none detectible, to serious and life-threatening,
depending on the method, frequency, and degree of exposure.  In small
amounts, OA may even be considered non-poisonous, or even, possibly, a
nutrient, I should think.

We are all constantly exposed to oxalic acid and oxalates in low doses in
our daily diet.  I guess the question here is the amount that a beekeeper
may experience in the process of treating hives and working on them after,
and the method of contact.   That will vary considerably, I imagine,
depending on many factors, from almost none in hobby situations where
extreme care is exercised, to a considerable amount in some commercial
situations, particularly where beekeepers are vaporizing the acid and
standing downwind.  People tend to get complacent if they don't experience
ill effects or die immediately, and I have seen this already with OA
evaporation on several occasions.

For a better understanding of oxalic acid and oxalates in our everyday diet,
see

http://helios.hampshire.edu/~nlNS/mompdfs/oxalicacid.pdf

http://www.coljoe.com/vegetable_oxalic_acid.htm

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/oxalic.html

Source: http://tinyurl.com/7jxe2

allen

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