20 dangerous minerals you don't want to lick

[rockjunquie]

Some surprises here.

[stardiamond]

I don't know about dangerous, but coprolite isn't appealing.

[stephan]

A lot of exaggerations and misinformation. Containing toxic constituents does not mean they are bioavailable. If everything was as dangerous as claimed, I’d expect to see a lot less bare-handed handling.

Licking a piece of cinnabar probably won’t do any harm, if it is the solid variety, but would be more dangerous if crumbly. Reducing it to a powder would be more problematic, but inhalation would be the route of exposure.

Asbestos is perfectly safe to lick and touch, but you don’t want to breathe the dust. It isn’t toxic, per se. The damage it causes is physical (i.e. it is an abrasive in your lungs).

[stephan]

Sept 24, 2021 13:21:18 GMT -5 stardiamond said:

I don't know about dangerous, but coprolite isn't appealing.

Before I thought about it, I made a coprolite tongue. LOL.

IMG_0118_Coprolite tongue cabochon by sdttds, on Flickr

[Fossilman]

We were at Glass Buttes and Emory Coons could smell something burning from a campfire, he went to take a look and the idiots had cinnabar,opalite rough stacked round the firepit!
The gases were coming off the Cinnabar material.... They had dogs and kids there too, Emory explained to them that they could have ended up dead or ER...