Unobtinosis

Unobtinosis is a degenerative disease caused by exposure to certain forms of unobtanium ore, unobtanium metal, and their byproducts. Symptoms of Unobtinosis can include gastrointestinal bleeding, pulmonary haemorrhage, headache, and swelling of the eyeballs. Unobtinosis, if left untreated, is frequently fatal. Terminal symptoms of advanced Unobtinosis can include dissolution of the gastrointestinal tract, disintegration of the lungs, leakage of liquefied central nervous system tissue into the postnasal cavity, and the sudden and violent rupture of the eyeballs. Patients experiencing these symptoms are encouraged to seek prompt emergency medical assistance.

Workers in mining, materials processing, and manufacturing facilities can develop Unobtinosis through chronic exposures to minute amounts of powdered unobtanium ore if proper measures are not taken to prevent dusts and slurries containing the metal from touching the skin, contacting the mucous membranes, or being inhaled or ingested. Acute exposures to large amounts of unobtanium can also be detrimental to health. Contamination of the water, soil, or air through the liberation of unobtanium-containing materials can cause higher rates of Unobtinosis in the general population, resulting in a public health calamity.

An individual's direct exposure to any amount of unobtanium ore is considered an urgent health-affecting situation by the Department of Health and Wellbeing (DHW). A release of raw unobtanium ore or disturbed, disintegrated, or decomposed unobtanium metal into the atmosphere is considered a severe problem by the Bureau of Natural Resources (BNR) and is classified a moderate disaster by the Department of Calamity and Catastrophe (DCC).

Strict safeguards are put in place in all steps of unobtanium ore mining and processing to prevent contamination of workers or the environment because of the risk of unobtinosis. Strict measures must also be followed when manufacturing using processed unobtanium, as any disturbance of the settled state of the metal—such as what occurs during electronics manufacturing and assembly—can upset minute amounts of unobtanium metal from its settled form and turn it into a dust, which is enough to expose humans and risk medical consequences.

Electronics and other devices containing unobtanium metal must never be user serviced, disassembled, or destroyed in an uncontrolled fashion, as doing so may dislodge small quantities of the unobtanium metal contained in the device and contaminate the environment with unobtanium dust, leading to human exposure. Since consumers may find it inconvenient to be unable to disassemble or customize their electronics, many lines of consumer electronic devices are instead manufactured using semiobtanium ore, an entirely benign substitute semiconductor which can fulfill every mainstream function of unobtanium, but without the hazard and with only modest disadvantages, such as decreased conductivity, increased electrical resistance, and higher amounts of waste heat—all of which can be mitigated with unexceptional costs or ignored if the differences are perceived to be negligible.

Prevalence of Unobtinosis is highest in southwestern Illuminatia in the River Sinfonia valley and on the Chromatic Range, near where unobtanium ore is mined and where the majority of the processing of the ore takes place. Moderately elevated prevalence of unobtinosis has been found in regions where the supply chain makes consumer electronics containing semiobtanium metal difficult to obtain. Illuminatia's premier medical facilities treating Unobtinosis are found in South Coast Megalopolitan Complex population centers such as Symphony and Dvořák.