FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Glen Miller]

Good one Les. The topic of the reality of malachite dust is going around in FB lapidary circles right now, so talk to dispel the fear mongers is worthwhile.

I Googled "toxicity of malachite dust" and FMF came up about the 3rd reference, a good sign for the Forum's credibility.

[Linus]

Hi Guys, just to add a more official touch to the conversation, based on MSDS data sheet dated June 2015; available here:
jostchemical.com/documentation/SDS/Basic%20Copper%20Carbonate%20(12069-69-1).pdf
(link normalized by FMF)

...the following applies:

"NFPA health hazard : 2 - Intense or continued exposure could cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury unless prompt medical attention is given.

NFPA fire hazard : 0 - Materials will not burn.

NFPA reactivity : 0 - Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and are not reactive with water.

HMIS III Rating

Health : 2 Moderate Hazard - Temporary or minor injury may occur

Flammability : 0 Minimal Hazard - Materials that will not burn

Physical : 0 Minimal Hazard - Materials that are normally stable, even under fire conditions, and will NOT react with water, polymerize, decompose, condense, or self-react. Non-Explosive.

Personal Protection : E - Safety glasses, Gloves, Dust respirator

One can also turn to their local "Poison Control Center" for up-to-date info. Hope this helps!

[lluis]

If this counts for anything, I am a chemist (yes, one of those odd items you rarely find..)
And second, I worked in the gemology industry, or lapidary industry.
Yes, cutting, grinding, and polishing malachite could be harmful (mainly said to me that arranged drinking so and so liters of milk daily). But in some pills it said to be useful for health, there is enough copper to make ingestion of malachite dust a joke....

So, copper is bad, very bad fungus (due to interaction with fungic acid (not a joke....).
Not so bad for superior specimens, And with a little care, no one should worry (except if they eat kg of malachite...)

With best wishes

Lluís

[Linus]

Yes, I agree with you Luis; I too will happily purchase nice malachites anyday and leave them around my house and office! However, this site should be careful putting out health-related info - there is a very small percentage of people who are actually allergic to copper dust and so the government recommends mask and gloves.

[alfredo]

I'm allergic to cats, but the government hasn't warned me to put the cat out. Lazy bureaucrats....

[SteveB]

Lol, and at least Douglas Adams wrote "toels can be harmful if swallowed in large quantities" :)

[lluis]

Dear Linus

If we should place all possible allergenic adds in all things, well, lists would be infinite.....
Anyway, which does not affect one, affects other....
I am extremely sensitive to sunburning. I feel like having a vampire in family ancestors :-( ).Most persons are not.
Copper is placed in diet supplements (and advertized, besides). Others, as you say are extremely allergic to it.
If we continue.....
Simply, we generally talk about the majority. If we should talk about exceptions, I fear that any message will clog the server of FMF....

With best wishes

Lluís

[Pierre Joubert]

[Peter Lemkin]

Malachite DUST might well be somewhat harmful in and to the lungs - and might from the lung be able to get into the bloodstream, but Malachite specimens of even chips on the skin will do nothing. It is always a good idea to wash one's hands after handling lots of mineral specimens, especially those that contain heavy metals and/or those that are poisonous in some forms [As, Sb, Pb, Hg] etc...but other forms of those same elements with other elements are not bio-available [can't harm you]. Bukovskyite Fe2(AsO4)(SO4)(OH)·7H2O is highly poisonous and I have several LARGE specimens. I do not touch them [they are in plastic and I touched them once to put them in the plastic], and I wash my hands even if I move the plastic. During the Middle Ages this was used as a rodent and people poison. Orpiment and cinnabar handling it is wise to wash one's hands after, as with several other minerals too numerous to list here. Galena is safe, but galena DUST or Pb dust is not [if you are sanding your rare Langban Pb specimen], nor if some Pb minerals were ingested [if one were that stupid]. I believe Dr. Sinkankas once made a list of dangerous minerals and how to handle them [i.e. what dangers could present]. I'll see if I can locate it. The body can handle small amounts of even fairly toxic compounds...but not all - and some are cumulative. It is all a matter of relative risk with a few exceptions of highly toxic minerals....but with all the pollutants in the air, water, food, fabrics, plastics, housing, furniture, carpets and products we come in contact with daily, do you really want to add yet more with some of your minerals? I've taken courses in toxicology, and have many books detailing relative risk by various exposures of huge lists of chemicals. Most people do not, nor would they understand what is meant by LD-50 or LD-100, synergism, etc. Take reasonable care. MOST minerals are completely harmless. A few are not. A few more are if breathed in or ingested, and dose is always relevant [a few exposures touching your specimens vs. a miner being in contact with the mineral or its dust for years].

[alfredo]

DUST is best always kept OUTSIDE of the human body, whether we're talking about emptying the vacuum cleaner bag, the cat litter box, working in the garden, driving on dirt roads, construction sites, industry or farmyards. If exposed to dust, wear a respirator and wash your hands before touching food. There is no reason to be more fearful of mineral specimen dusts than any of the other types in daily life, and the same precautions apply.

[Peter Lemkin]

[Tracy]

Is this discussion still going? I throw my hands (and my malachites) up in the air.

Good thing half my collection is quartz, nobody's screaming about silicosis from handling them. Not yet, anyway.

Off to hug my galenas, cinnabars, orpiments, realgars, and native arsenics...to name a few. If I acquire a bukovskyite someday, I'll hug it too.

Toxicologist / risk assessor greetings to all. :)

-Tracy