In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
[ paraquat]

Only if you are daft enough to drink it. And enough people were...

It seems like many cases of gardeners accidentally ingesting
chemicals (not just paraquat) have occurred because the solution
was put into a softdrink bottle or something similar -- and then
the thirsty gardener takes a swig on a hot day! Ooopsie!

Not to say the same being done by children.

It is fundamental to the safe use of chemicals of all sorts
around the house that they *never* be mixed or stored, even for a
few minutes, in any container that would ever contain food or
drink. I would go so far as to say that this even applies to the
stuff you wash the kitchen floor with.

Whereas I would say that you are OTT. SOME chemicals (like bleach
and sodium laureth sulphate) cross the borderline between food use
and other use. If your floor cleaner is just the latter (i.e. a
stronger form of washing up liquid), then there is no problem.

The only pesticide that I both use and don't worry too much about
is Bordeaux mixture. It is easy to check that I have rinsed off
enough that even somebody licking the bowl would come to no harm.
[ Clue: a microgram a day is good for you, an occasional milligram
is completely harmless, and a gram is potentially lethal. ]

Most fertilisers are pretty safe, too.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.