Not that far in error. 1/8 tsp in a liter of water to be drunk over the day is nowhere lethal, and many apparently are doing that with beneficial results. I'm not promoting it, just reporting what I read. Remember, there is more boron in the world's atmosphere than there is in the 100,000,000 ton reserve of Dial Corp. The lethal one time dose is about 4 grams IIRC, or about a teaspoonful. At 1/8 teaspoon/day, it is supposed to clean you out. From what iI have read, the biggest problem at that dose is staying away from the john. I will check up on that, however.
Patrick, remember in the other thread where I said that I prefer to go to doctors, not engineers, for medical advise...
http://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/245/addition_of_boric_acid_or_borax_to_food_supplements.pdf
That's a link to a really informative analysis of boron in the human diet by the German Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, written as Germany was preparing to conform to EU standards. In this case, Germany had banned the use of boron in dietary uses due to it's toxicity. Now to comply with the EU, Germany was reviewing the data on boron.
Here are some excerps from this paper:
The boron concentration in the air is <0.5 up to 80 ng/m^3.
According to the current WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, the "Provisional Guideline
Value” for boron levels in drinking water is 0.5 mg B/L. The provisional nature of this
value is due to the fact that in areas with naturally high boron levels there are difficulties in
complying with the value using the technologically available treatment methods. The boron
levels in drinking water around the world are normally between 0.1 mg and 0.3 mg B/L.
According to the Drinking Water Ordinance of 21 May 2001 Annex 2, Part 1, No. 3 which
transposes Directive 98/83/EC, the limit value of 1 mg/l for boron in water for human consumption
must be complied with in Germany.
No consistent data are available on the lethal dose of boric acid and borax in man (7). The
pharmaceutical literature indicates 0.8 to 3.0 g for infants, 5-6 g for small children, 12 to 30 g
for adults as the lethal doses after oral intoxication (4, 5).
ECETOC (European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals) a TDI (Tolerable Daily Intake) of 19.2
mg B/day (7) for an adult weighing 60 kg
They show that most of the orally ingested boron is excreted relatively quickly in urine
(8, 22). For instance, 60-75% of 750 mg boric acid, equivalent to 131 mg boron, administered
orally to test persons, was excreted within the first 24 hours and 93% within the first 96 hours
of ingestion in urine (8).
The tolerable upper intake level (UL) established by the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) from all sources that does not lead to any health risks in conjunction with
ongoing ingestion, is 10 mg for an adult per day.
Given the uncertainty caused by the sparse data situation, the Institute recommends that boric acid or borax should not be used in food supplements.
OK - enough excerpts. I hope you get the point that while what you suggest could be done, it greatly exceeds recommended dosages for borate compounds.
Anyway, I bet it does "clean" you out!!
Its comparatively higher pH is more stressful on some fabrics and some kitchen ware.
