What happened to the thread about chimney sweep cancer?

[Woodrow]

Was it moved to another forum? I couldn't find it, not sure how the new forum works yet. Unless it was deleted. But why? Was it considered a form of profanity because of the type of cancer that chimney sweeps experienced after long term exposure to creosote???

 

[BrotherBart]

It was moved to the Inglenook. The resulting posts went way over the top. The thread was deleted.

 

[Woodrow]

I can understand deleting offensive individual posts that were using locker room humor concerning the particular type of cancer chimney sweeps were said to be prone to. But what I don't understand is why an entire thread (the non-locker room part) is deleted that refers to a very serious health issue that directly pertains to what many people on this forum actually do. Many people here sweep their own chimneys and do so often. I'm thinking about getting the tools to do my own as well. So I would think it would be very important - and very pertinent with respect to this website - for forum members to know about this risk hazard. Especially since most didn't appear to be aware of the risks. I know I sure hadn't heard about the risk before stumbling across the link I referenced.

 

[firefighterjake]

I didn't read the article, but from what I saw from the title it was referring to old-time sweeps . . . which makes me think that a lot of those sweeps were dealing with a lot more creosote and gunk from the old woodstoves, wood furnaces and coal burners . . . more over, I highly doubt the few times folks here sweep a chimney (I would guess the majority might do it twice a year) would pose as much of a health risk as what those old time sweeps dealt with. Still . . . for some . . . it could be interesting reading.

 

[begreen]

I didn't see the article, but would expect there to be several magnitudes difference between someone doing this 5-6 days a week, 8-10 hrs a day and someone doing this a few times a season. I would also expect there to be a difference between pros that take precautions (masks,etc.) and those that don't. And this doesn't include confounding factors like smoking.

 

[LLigetfa]

When it comes to cancer, risk increases with exposure but it does not mean that less exposure is without risk.

 

[BrotherBart]

There was in fact no "article" but one frame in a slide show of many other things and a blurb about cancer in sweeps in England in the 1700s. If information on the dangers associated with creosote and chimney sweeping is the objective then more and better is available here. Including the story of the boys in England. And the law in 1788 that put a stop to shoving them down chimneys. A practice which was linked to their particular form of cancer.

(broken link removed to http://www.ncsg.org/FortheTrade/OccupationalDiseases/tabid/275/Default.aspx)

 

[begreen]

When it comes to cancer, risk increases with exposure but it does not mean that less exposure is without risk.

Nothing is without risk, including crossing the street. I have done worse things to my body than chimney sweeping, much worse.

 

[oldspark]

Nothing is without risk, including crossing the street. I have done worse things to my body than chimney sweeping, much worse.

Pictures

 

[Defiant]

My apologies, think the thread got nixed because of me.

 

[fossil]

No, Defiant, it got nixed because it just simply didn't belong here. The basic story it had to tell was about awful things experienced by unfortunate folks in England nearly 300 years ago. There's nobody on these forums...including the professional sweeps who are members here...who do anything that even remotely compares to what those folks were doing way back then. Interesting from an historical perspective, perhaps...but this isn't History.com, nor is it Health.com...the whole thread was simply out of place here on a number of levels. No biggie...carry on. Rick

 

[BrotherBart]

And on that note...