Welcome to the official Gorgeous Geology’s Guide to Things Not To Put Up Yourself. This guide will help you find minerals that could kill you if you enjoy them a little too much!
Precious minerals are used in everything from circuit boards to tableware. They’re also some of the most toxic materials known to science, and excavating them has proved so dangerous over the years, some have been phased out of industrial production altogether. Listed below are a handful of toxic or deadly minerals on earth.
Actinolite - May contain asbestos.
Adamite - Contains arsenic and some copper
Emerald
Erionite - It looks a lot like asbestos minerals and harms humans much in the same way: mesothelioma.
Chalcanthite - Not something to be played with as it’s hydrated copper sulphate. It is water soluble and will crystallise out again from solution. The copper in this mineral is very bio-available and is toxic to plants and in high quantities toxic to humans.
Goshenite
Bumble Bee Jasper - Contains Sulphur and Arsenic
Hutchinsonite - Is a sulfosalt mineral of thallium, arsenic and lead. A nasty mix of poisons, particularly thallium as it can cause hair loss, serious illness and death.
Boji-stones - Contains some sulphur, pyrite and/or marcasite
Celestite - Contains strontium
Chalcopyrite (peacock stone) Contains copper and sulphur
Cinnabar - This is the single most toxic mineral to handle on earth. It is the world’s main source of mercury and has been mined since Neolithic times. However, when oxidized, this element will produce methyl mercury and dimethyl mercury, two toxic compounds that cause irreparable harm to the nervous systems of children. It is deadly in small concentrations and can be absorbed through the respiratory tract, intestines, or skin.
Fluorite - Contains fluorine
Galena - Contains lead which doesn’t get flushed out of your system. It accumulates over the years, eventually reaching toxic levels. Once that happens both you and your kids pay the price, as lead toxicity is carcinogenic to you and is teratogenic (causing severe birth defects) to your offspring.
Garnierite (aka Falcondoite) - Contains nickel
Lapis Lazuli - Contains pyrite
Mohawkite - Contains copper and Arsenic
Moldavite - Contains aluminium oxide
Pietersite - Fibrous form contains asbestos
Psiomelan - Contains barium
Pyrite - Contains sulphur
Realgar - Contains sulphur and arsenic
Selenite - Contains Selenium
Serpentine - Fibrous form contains asbestos
Stibnite - Contains lead and antimony
Tanzanite – Gem variety of Zoisite.
Tiger Eye - Fibrous form contains asbestos
Torbernite - This mineral is radioactive and emits the cancer forming radon gas. This is one mineral you do not want on your display cabinet shelf, let alone up yourself.
Tremolite - May contain asbestos
Vanadinite - Contains vanadium
Wulfenite - Contains lead and molybdenum
Zoisite
Zircon - Contains zirconium, radioactive
For additional radioactivity concerns steer clear of the following:
Deeply pigmented topaz, artificially dark (almost black) smokey quartz, very deep pink or red tourmaline, coloured diamonds, deeply coloured kunzite and some cultured pearls
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