[Jewelry making - Article 00486] - Re: [Orchid] Polishing up oyster shells

[John Donivan]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>     Is this a myth? I'd like very much to think so, but I've
>     repeatedly heard "If it was alive, it can kill you" with regard to
>     dust from shells and pearls. My efforts to get a definitive answer
>     have always been inconclusive. 

    No, it's not a myth. "If it's alive, it can kill you" is extremist,
    though. All shells and pearls are composed of calcium carbonate in a
    natural form - meaning there's also organic stuff. The dust, which
    usually is incredibly fine, is quite bad for you. The effects of it
    are often overstated and border on paranoia, at times, but it is bad
    for you. It is a matter of inhaling a fine dust - your lungs don't
    like it and may respond with things like pulmonary edema and
    potentially cancer. Casual cutting now and then doesn't warrant that
    sort of hyper-caution, if you want to know the truth. 

    Cutting abalone shell without serious ventilation is poisonous. I,
    too have tried to track down - online - what it is and why, without
    results. I have known people who were sickened by it, though - made
    acutely ill in a matter of minutes or hours - from grinding it in a
    standard lapidary situation. Oyster shells, pearls, padak shells -
    all that stuff and more has a dust hazard that's moderately bad for
    you. Abalone is the only one I've heard of that's actually poisonous
    or acutely hazardous. One thing I read that was fairly hypothetical
    was that the dust has "hooks" that lodge in mucous membranes and
    actually behave like cactus spines or something. Again, I've never
    really heard a good reason, but I have known personal examples,
    which is good enough for me... 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________