Hi Kirk -
I tried looking it up and can’t find any convincing cause and effect links. Several references to rumored inhaled ab dust events but nothing by reputable sources. I’m not sure how many references were based on initial unsubstantiated rumors.
Here is a cut/paste response from a guy with doctorate credentials in Bio Sci who addresses some of the specific rumors. Also a link to a musical instrument maker who refers to the toxicity thing as “urban legend.”
http://www.leonardmusicalinstruments.com/turning_mother_of_pearl.htm
Nothing I could find convinced me that ab shell dust is “toxic” - like asbestos or tobacco smoke for instance.
http://www.members.tripod.com/…l/toxicchemicals.htm
I imagine any dust, smoke, foreign body, biological organism (TB, Valley Fever, etc) can mess you up if inhaled. If you grind stuff, wear a mask.
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:42:05 -0600 Reply-To: Conchologists List CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Sender: Conchologists List CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU From: “Dr. David Campbell” amblema@BAMA.UA.EDU Subject: Re: abalone dust toxicity In-Reply-To: GAEAKNNANNCIDABJAFCFKEAGDDAA.avrilb@telus.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I recently read a comment on the chat list of the jewellery makers’ > website, ganoskin.com., stating that the abalone shell is a deadly > one to cut or grind, due to the fact that the body absorbs the dust > through the lungs or skin.
Shell dust is calcium carbonate and protein. It’s not absorbed through the skin. Any fine dust is bad to breathe, but there’s nothing worse about shell than average (as opposed to, e.g., asbestos). There is a possibility that some treatment of the shell (polishing, etc.) or something used in the cutting (e.g., the lubricant for the saw blade) adds dangerous chemicals to the mix; such problems could be avoided by getting natural shells and being careful about safety with the chemicals you use. If the new technique generates very high heat as it cuts, there is the chance that powder could be changed from calcium carbonate to calcium oxide. This is a strong base that can irritate the skin and would not be good for the lungs. However, unless you are directly inhaling the dust as the shells are cut (as in a large factory with seriously deficient safety standards), I would not expect there to be enough to cause a problem. Perhaps more likely is the possibility that the factory in question had an outbreak of some serious respiratory disease.
My graduate advisor has been cutting lots of shells for a few decades. The only health problem he had was cirrhosis due to the acetone he used in processing the samples. He’s been careful with the acetone since then and hasn’t had a problem.
The body then interprets this substance as a sugar > and sends it to all the organs.
Not likely. The body can recognize proteins, calcium ions, and carbonate ions just fine.
There followed an anecdote about a group of > people dying just a few months after beginning a new efficient > process of cutting abalone shell. Pustules in the lungs, death due > to pneumonia.
Large quantities of fine particles (dust) in the lungs is not good for you, though I suspect you would need closer to a few decades to have significant problems with shell dust.
It was also stated that the dust can be absorbed > when suspended in a solution.
If you drink it.
I’m going to have to cut some of these shells in my work, and I must > find a safe way to do it.
To avoid inhaling lots of dust, assuming that your cutting methods generate lots of dust, you could get a basic air filter mask from a hardware store.
For more information, you might look into safety information for construction work using marble or limestone (also calcium carbonate).
– Dr. David Campbell 425 Scientific Collections Building Department of Biological Sciences Biodiversity and Systematics University of Alabama, Box 870345 Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0345 USA