Toxic Crystals.
This article is not meant to scare anyone. It is meant to inform you. There is no need to fear crystals or handling them. But some crystals need to be flagged so you can take precautions after handling them. Like washing your hands after holding. Some crystals should not be used in elixirs or water bottles.
Crystal water bottles have become very popular in the last few years. They are great I have a few myself. There are two types of water bottles, available in the market. Ones that the crystal is exposed and the is touching the water with no barrier. These are the water bottles that you need to be cautious of. If you are going to purchase these bottles, please make sure you are only buying bottles with quartz-based crystals. Such as clear quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, citrine and smoky quartz. The only quartz-based crystal that can cause problems would be a lithium or hematoid quartz. Quartzes are safe and non-toxic. You can even pop a quartz in your drink for an extra energy boost if you don’t have the water bottle. It is safe. Just a side note, Selenite is not toxic but should not be put in water since tiny shards can break off and cause a danger. Selenite will also dissolve in water over time.
The other type of crystal water bottle are the bottles with the glass insert connected to the bottle. The crystals are in the insert protected by the glass, so the water does not directly touch the crystals. This is called an indirect method. You can put whatever crystal you would like in these types of bottles since the crystals are not touching the water you are ingesting.
Some common minerals that are in quartz that can be considered toxic are copper, aluminum and lead. There are also crystals that have asbestos and sulfur. People that do lapidary work, need to take extra precautions. Lapidary work consists of people cutting, polishing, and carving crystals. They need to protect themselves from crystal dust going into their lungs or ingesting the dust.
Copper is commonly found in crystals. High levels of copper are dangerous. If you are exposed to high levels of copper, it can cause kidney and liver damage, and gastrointestinal problems. Some copper-based crystals are azurite, malachite, amazonite, cavansite, chrysocolla, gem silica, native copper, and turquoise. Tumbled crystals are safer to handle, then raw. If you hold raw crystal, it is still safe, but it is good practice to wash your hands after handling and keep it away from your mouth.
Aluminum is also another mineral that is commonly found in crystals. Aluminum can accumulate in your kidneys, brain, lungs, liver, and thyroid in high doses. Some crystals that have aluminum are ajoite, aquamarine, emerald, black tourmaline, dumortierite, labradorite, iolite, kunzite, lepidolite, moonstone, prehnite, ruby, sodalite, Sugilite, sunstone, unakite and topaz. Again, safe to handle, just wash your hands and do not ingest.
Lead build up can cause learning difficulties, irritability, muscle pain, and mood disorders. The build up occurs over months and years of exposure. Some crystals that contain lead are galena, stibnite, and wulfenite. Please wash your hands after handling and do not ingest.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and can be found in the fibrous forms of tigers’ eye, serpentine and pietersite. When these crystals are tumbled, they are perfectly safe to handle. But I would not ingest any form of them.
Sulfur is low in toxicity but can cause skin irritation and diarrhea. Crystals with sulfur are sulfur, covellite, moqui balls, pyrite, and marcasite.
Some other crystals that you should wash your hands after handling are bumble bee jasper, which is technically not a jasper, but is may from argonite, calcium, realgar, and pyrite. Realgar by itself if made of sulfur and arsenic. The realgar in bumble bee jasper is minute but it is there.
Fluorite contains fluorine. Lapis Lazuli contains pyrite, which contains sulfur.
Again, this article is not meant to be scary and turn you off of crystals and handling them. Crystals and minerals grow together and sometimes minerals turn into crystals. If in doubt just wash your hands and don’t put in your mouth.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Kathy Upper the founder of Spiritual Niagara for all your hard work. Thank you for connecting us like minded people together. As you start this new phase in your life. Remembe, never allow negative circumstances to dictate your life. Simply embrace all the goodness in the present moment. Try to experience joy everyday.