Lapidaryforum.net
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => SAFETY => Topic started by: Kaljaia on December 18, 2018, 11:20:29 PM
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Saw this article today: https://torontolife.com/city/life/my-beautiful-death/
Thought the warning about carving materials with unknown heavy metal concentrations might have application to the lapidary community as well. I know shells, like bone and rock, are one of those things you don't ever want to breathe dust from but I'm not sure if a standard dust mask would have helped in her case. Regardless of how a toxin got to where it is, probably not a good idea to ingest or inhale it! Toxic art supplies are nothing new, but I can see how someone might not suspect seashells for heavy metal concentration.
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Animals and plants use heavy metal concentrations in their war against predators. Tree bark is a prime example as it is loaded with human -insect poisons. Remarkably tee bark from saw mills has long been used in a chipped fermented " soup " form to feed beef cows .It was just a few years ago that this practice was stopped.
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The first post is dead on. Best to just be over cautious but not crazy. As for tree bark; some is good, others are bad. Aspirin comes to mind. But I think I would prefer grass fed beef.