From:
Mark Williams <stnbrk@xxxxxxx>
Date:
Thu, 26 Aug 1999 15:07:00 -0700
Subject:
which stone dusts are safe to breathe
Evan Hughes wrote:
Quoted text begins.With regards to which stone dusts are safe to breath, its best to
consider them ALL as unsafe.
End of quote.
I would have to second this motion. There was a rather lengthy
discussion about this issue on the Lapidary Digest a few months ago. The
question arose over the hazards of grinding/sanding jade (some jades also
contain asbestos).
A couple of list members cited studies done on common household dust (a
large portion of which is common quartz) vs. freshly cut or ground quartz
dust. It seems that the fresher, more jagged edges of quartz (and the study
assumes feldspar and just about any other mineral) are much more likely (I
forget the percentage) to cause lung problems. The studies were done (I
believe) because of suspected health hazards for people using
sandblasting/beadblasting equipment. Of course, I'm writing all this from a
rather poor memory (It *is* the first thing to go), so I'm not getting all
the specifics. If anyone is interested, I could ask the Lap. Digest list
again and see if I can get more specifics. Might take a while though, as
the L.D. is kinda slow moving.
In my opinion, you can't be too safe. You can easily be sorry though.
I know, dust masks are a pain to wear, but I want to live long and cut lots
of rocks.
Mark Williams
P.S. A little helpful hint that came out of the discussion was to buy some
mint oil or some other nice fragrant oil. Put a *small* drop on the inside
of your dust mask so you don't have to smell your own breath (heh). Even if
you brush often, a couple hours with a dust mask on can get pretty rank.
- References
- message 00226: which stone dusts are safe to breath (WAS Compounds of stone) - Evan Hughes (26 Aug 1999)
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