Dear list members;
I have a question - or two - about the use of mercury in the refining of silver,
i.e., the patio process, as practiced in New Spain in the early 17th century.
I've read Bakewell on Zacatecas and Brading on the 18th century, but I do not
recall finding in them any mention of the health effects of the exposure to
mercury on the refiners or on the people who lived in the area. I assume, since
mercury was shipped from Almaden in bottles, that the metallic form was used.
Surely the point at which it was mixed with powdered ore, salt, and copper
sulfate should have produced mercury poisoning among the workers; it also seems
likely to me that the smelting process, during which much of the mercury was
recovered, would have released mercury fumes to the open air. Further, the
slurry ponds in which the mercury and silver ore were combined were regularly
drained into the nearest local watercourse.
Yet I find no mention of morbidity or mortality in either of the two references
cited. Is it that the records are not good enough to support any theorizing? Or
did the Spanish have procedures in place that minimized illness?
Although the questions above are slightly off topic, I would be profoundly
grateful for any information or references.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Rignall
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