Naphthenic acid agents, thickening agent of napalm and oil drying agents used in painting and wood surface treatment. Industrially useful naphthenates include those of aluminium, magnesium, calcium, barium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, vanadium, and zinc. One oft-cited study stated that "naphthenic acids are the most significant environmental contaminants resulting from petroleum extraction from oil sands deposits." However "under worst-case exposure conditions, acute toxicity is unlikely in wild mammals exposed to naphthenic acids in AOS tailings pond water, but repeated exposure may have adverse health effects." Naphthenic acids are present in Athabasca oil sands (AOL) tailings pond water (TPW) at an estimated
Flail (weapon) derived from the agricultural tool of the same name, commonly used in threshing. It was primarily considered a peasant's weapon, and while not common, they were deployed in Germany and Central Europe in the later Late Middle Ages. The smaller, more spherical-headed flail appears to be even less common; it appears occasionally in artwork from the 15th century onward, but many historians have expressed doubts that it ever saw use as an actual military weapon. In the Late Middle Ages, a particular type of flail appears in several works being used as a weapon, which consists of a very long