FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Olivier]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here.

I'm looking for help with the toxicity of minerals. I'm a layman and scientific papers are a bit hard to read (I tried...) but I'd like to understand which minerals are toxic under common usage conditions (handling, possibly put in mouth or even ingesting, in the case of children), not when the mineral is heated, cut, ground, or extracted...

So far, I have found many websites with long lists of minerals supposedly toxic but with little explanation, and I haven't been able to independently verify the information. I have also understood that there is a lot of misinformation online... Nothing like a title such as "These 11 minerals will kill you!" to attract clicks, but I've found conflicting information. 

Do you know of a good website that would list minerals with reliable information regarding their toxicity (with explanations)?

In the meantime, I'm going off this list found on gemsociety(.)org, here in a spreadsheet: https(:)//bit(.)ly/30VBEhh

I've started googling each mineral but even then I can't find reliable information... is it buried somewhere?

Thank you for your help!

PS: I tried posting the link using instructions, but I'm not sure I got it right :/

[Volkmar Stingl]

Hello Olivier,

try this link: https://www.mindat.org/mesg-338876.html#494660

or directly this one:
https://www.academia.edu/40433628/An_Overview_of_Minerals_Toxicity
(link normalized by FMF)

Volkmar

[SteveB]

It all depends really, especially on why you want to know. If you are worried about what your child is picking up and putting in their mouth then you should be more concerned about ringworm and other biological vectors present in the ground everywhere. Anything swallowable can be a choking hazard in the throat or cause blockage in the gut, leading to fatal infections. Mercury, radiation, asbestos, lead and arsenic are all hazardous, but mostly by increasing risk of health problems in 30+yrs. I don't think any natural rock or mineral if fatal in terms of within the hour from touch or tasting. People totally misunderstand the problems because of false information scares in the media from the government. People are typically dumb and really do not understand media releases, they are written in a particular way with very specific words that convey one meaning but are factually different,in order to control how people are going to react. If you are looking to kill someone by feeding them a rock then too bad nothing exists. Get an education, I think this is an inappropriate topic to be discussing especially since there is nothing natural fatal guaranteed.

[Olivier]

Thank you Volkmar, I will look at this paper with interest!

Steve, I don't know why you think this is an inappropriate topic, but I was not trying to start a controversy. I understand that a lot of information online is not accurate, that's why I'm posting here to inquire further. This is me trying to get an education of sorts.

My example with children was just to contrast the "typical conditions" in which a mineral would be handled in someone's home, as opposed to the conditions of a mine for example. I understand many minerals can release toxic substances in an industrial environment where the stone is cut or heated (as far as I understand), but that's not really happening in a household. Even if one could do it at home I suppose, my point being "how most people handle crystals". The children example is just to point out that many people have minerals that aren't displayed neatly in a glass shelf - and kids or pets may get a hold of them.

[James Catmur]

It all depends on how you handle it and what you do with it.

I always used to tell my children to be careful, wash hands afterwards and not put things in their mouth. I then often (they would say 'too often') went on to point out that water is toxic if taken in excess.

[Jordi Fabre]

[James Catmur]

Thank you Jordi

[David K. Joyce]

Hi Olivier, The article Jordi linked you to is a very good summary. I don't know how worried you are about this but, practically speaking, there is not much to worry about. I have been collecting minerals for over 50 years, have travelled the world, met many, many collectors, beginners and experienced, run several mineral clubs, attended hundreds of mineral shows
and have never heard of anyone, adult or child, being poisoned or hurt by mineral specimens. It is just very unlikely and difficult to accomplish, using normal care and precautions. Be well, David KJ

[Mike Chontofalsky]

Hi Olivier,

If you are looking at a reference book I would suggest the Merck Index or the Chemical Dictionary. You will need to know the mineral's chemical name. I had these on my desk when I was teaching HS chemistry. The online references mentioned are good too.

[Olivier]

Thank you very much for all your answers!

Thank you Jordi and Volkmar, this paper is the best direct resource I have found so far. I appreciate the reference book Mike; I don't know the minerals' chemical names so it would be a lot of work for me to figure it out, but I will keep the reference somewhere in case I want to dig deeper.

My wife is into crystals and has several, and we just had a baby, so I'm trying to explore the field and at the same time create a resource I could come back to later. I'm also getting interested in minerals from a purely geological standpoint (not 'metaphysical') and I've seen a few I would enjoy having at home.

From what I've researched so far, a lot of the common minerals my wife has are not even mentioned (e.g. Lepidolite, Hematite). Now I'm trying to understand whether it's because these are completely safe in any way, or if they belong to a family that has similar toxic characteristics and I haven't found about it yet (however low they are), or if they simply have different names because of trademark/fancy names.

[alfredo]

Olivier, The vast majority of minerals are harmless. A few can be toxic if you eat them, or grind them to a powder and snort them, but In 50 years of collecting I've never met a collector who actually did such things, so the dangers remain merely hypothetical.

I have a 5 year old daughter at home who likes stones. She's been picking them up and bringing them into the house since she was 2 years old. I never saw her try to eat one. She understands that would not be delicious. I would worry about babies or 1 year olds crawling around on the floor and sucking on things, but it's pretty easy to keep a mineral collection out of their reach.

In general, if you have any toxic minerals, treat them the same way you treat all the other potentially harmful things around the house: cleaning liquids and powders, the kitty litter box, garden soil, contents of the vacuum cleaner bag... Just keep them OUTside the human body, and wash hands after handling them. Then the most dangerous thing that will happen to you is that you'll drop a heavy one on your toes one day.

[James Catmur]

As Alfredo says, just take sensible precautions.

Many things are toxic if used incorrectly (check out a list of types of wood by toxicity - we used to burn sawdust on the farm in case horses ingested it)

[cascaillou]

The final version of the article (updated December 19, 2020) is now available:

https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/gen_imag/An_Overview_of_Minerals_Toxicity/An_Overview_of_Minerals_Toxicity.pdf