Pub. 3 2013 Issue 1

17 Mining Focus If it Can’t Be Grown, It has to Be Mined! pain, and an oral fluid to treat ulcers and mouth sores. If a patient had eye problems, he might use a diluted copper mixture to treat the problem. • Mongolians, like Celsus, thought they could treat venereal disease with copper. In their case, they administered copper sulfate by mouth. • Records in India and Persia tell us that a variety of copper compounds were considered to be a treatment for lung disease, eye infections, boils, and some skin conditions. • Aztecs would treat sore throats by putting copper in a liquid and then having the patient gargle with it. Ancient people clearly understood that there was something special about copper alloys, but there were limits to their understanding. That is still true today: scientists don’t know why copper alloys kill bacteria. They do have some theories on the subject and are conducting active research. Maybe scientists will come up with one or more definitive explanations someday. In the meantime, despite the fact that we don’t completely understand these copper alloys, there is something wonderful about what these copper alloys will do. And that has been true for literally thousands of years. X The EPA requ i res the following statement to be includedwhen making publ i c health cla ims related to the use of Ant imicrobial Copper Alloys: The use of a Copper Alloy surface is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. The Copper Alloysurfacematerialhasbeenshown to reduce microbial contamination, but it does not necessarily prevent cross-contamination. Recycling industrial-related scrap metal is one of the things we do best! www.umw.com | 801.364.5679 Utah Metal Works, Inc. continued from page 14