[HEALTH WARNING] Purple Water Beads [Cancer Warning]

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  aerona on 08/04/2012 - 16:26

  lol looks like i'll be throwing mine away once it gets in

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  Ughhh on 08/04/2012 - 16:27

  I think you'll be alright as long as youre not deliberately breathing those beads in or eating them- I know they do look quite tasty! Plus, youre only dealing with a small amount of them…

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  TScott on 08/04/2012 - 18:49

  I wonder if these beads are the same beads used in DAISO's air fresheners? They look the same, and they shrink in a few weeks when the scent goes away.

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  c64 on 08/04/2012 - 19:37

  but you have linked to information for desiccants. how do you know the crystal mud contains any cobalt chloride? what is your source?

  • 

    Moots on 08/04/2012 - 22:02

    -1

    "Because I was curious as to how they work, I did some research and found that Cobalt Chloride, which is in the beads"

    If you weren't so lazy and did a Google Search, it's everywhere.

    • 

      c64 on 08/04/2012 - 23:09

      +2

      you're the one making the sensationalist claims - the onus is on you to provide the evidence to support your claims that the water beads contain carcinogenic compounds

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  mrhorseham on 08/04/2012 - 20:13

  +5

  Everything causes cancer. But thanks for the post.

  • 

    lakers1222 on 09/04/2012 - 11:08

    +3

    [HEALTH WARNING] Sunlight causes skin cancer

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  m0nkeycheese on 08/04/2012 - 21:20

  +2

  Smoking causes cancer.. I bet a few ozbargainers still smoke lol. They will be fine just dont eat them like pretty much anything that isn't food

  • 

    aerona on 08/04/2012 - 21:27

    What use are the purple beads even for?

    • 

      m0nkeycheese on 08/04/2012 - 21:35

      +1

      Kind of like these

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIiOhdqiUJo

      Here was the deal

      http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/63984

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  Geewhizz on 09/04/2012 - 07:15

  +1

  As the name (Cobalt Chloride) suggests, it would seem to be the purple colouring that contains this chemical. People, don't eat your purple beads, nor drink the water that they've been in. If you spill your beads they make a BIG mess because they tend to want to bounce and roll and go everywhere, so it's also not advisable to play with them. I think they're unlikely to do you much harm if you pop them into a clear vase (or whatever) and look at them. The novelty of that tends to wear off pretty quickly too.

  Given the purpose of these things, and the fact that you're not eating or really even handling it that much, I suspect your health is probably at greater risk from some of the products you're dealing with in your day to day life.

  • 

    c64 on 09/04/2012 - 11:25

    +2

    well, 2 minutes of googling produces:

    from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel

    "Silica gel is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive and stable with ordinary usage"

    nice!

    "Some of the beads may be doped with a moisture indicator, such as cobalt(II) chloride, which is toxic and may be carcinogenic."

    so cobalt chloride is sometimes added to desiccants (blue indicating silica gel) for the specific purpose of acting as a visual indicator of moisture.

    this has nothing to do with the gel water beads that are being sold for pot plants!

    again, where is your evidence to support your claims that water beads contains cobalt chloride?

    if they contained cobalt they would change colour to pink!

    • 

      llama on 13/05/2012 - 21:27

      again, where is your evidence to support your claims that water beads contains cobalt chloride?

      I HIGHLY doubt that there is any evidence whatsoever - It's just a troll post.

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  Postulative on 09/04/2012 - 11:19

  +3

  Note to self: don't chew the purple beads.

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  ade123 on 09/04/2012 - 18:31

  I received mine last week….
  Thanks for posting OP.
  I think I am going to throw it into the bin as I have pet at home..
  Don't wanna take any risk!

  • 

    Ughhh on 09/04/2012 - 18:51

    Lol will pets actually eat it? Im sure they dont taste or smell anything like food that dogs/cats would like.

    • 

      Geewhizz on 13/05/2012 - 08:01

      Actually, yes, they'll want to play with them if you spill them on the floor, as will bubbas.

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  sleepyowl on 12/05/2012 - 10:31

  Now i feel bad for posting it…

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  llama on 13/05/2012 - 21:25

  Because I was curious as to how they work, I did some research and found that Cobalt Chloride, which is in the beads, was given a risk phrase of "R-49" which means that is may cause cancer.

  SAYS WHO?

  Obvious troll is obvious