Timeline for Toothpaste in the back-country and the principle of leave no trace
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
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| Sep 1, 2015 at 16:46 | history | edited | Eric | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Sep 1, 2015 at 14:26 | comment | added | Ilmari Karonen | Sure, I was just trying to point out that the thermal decomposition reaction you mention is pretty much a red herring. There's really no need to even mention it. It's relevant if you're using the sodium bicarbonate to bake bread, sure, but not if you're spitting it out onto soil. | |
| Sep 1, 2015 at 14:16 | comment | added | Eric | @IlmariKaronen rain water is generally slightly acidic; the breakdown in a natural environment is going to be ridiculously fast, and we're talking about amounts in the 1g range. The study referenced above puts that toxicity at 430 backpackers spitting their toothpaste, if all of it was spit out, into 1 liter of water, and then getting to toxicity. | |
| Sep 1, 2015 at 14:12 | comment | added | Ilmari Karonen | Nitpicking a bit here, but the thermal decomposition of sodium bicarbonate won't actually make it any less harmful to the environment. (In fact, sodium carbonate might potentially be a bit more harmful, being more strongly alkaline.) But yes, NaHCO3 is pretty harmless stuff unless you start dumping it out by the bucketload (in which case the biggest issue is likely that you may locally raise the soil / water pH and sodium content). | |
| Sep 1, 2015 at 13:13 | history | answered | Eric | CC BY-SA 3.0 |