The tiger eye is much harder than aluminum, you'll wear that macbook away before you scratch that stone. Seriously don't worry about it the "fibers" are locked in so to speak, unless your grinding the stone on a grinding wheel or diamond wheel your in no danger.
In the last two years of high school I used to unload a pottery kiln with asbestos gloves and i'd marvel at the pretty crystalline fibers floating in the morning sun....its been 48 years and im still alive so wearing a tigers eye bracelet is nothing to worry about.
The people who died from lung cancer were mostly breathing a ridiculous amount of the fibers in mills that created cloth and insulation and industry. think about this for many years this was used in a lot of things that people came i contact with daily...city dewelers walk streets that on dry days had clouds of particle from brake linings.
Would I purposely expose my self to what I was exposed to in high school ...no...will I die from lung cancer....doubtful. fst food is more of a danger that wearing a bead dress every day made from tiger eye
Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 8:32 am Posts: 1730 Location: Suwanee, GA US
Asbestos does not 'poke your DNA'. It causes scarring in the long tissue. Not all asbestos is created equally either. If you did not mine it or manufacture with it, the biggest risk is lawyers.
Asbestos does not 'poke your DNA'. It causes scarring in the long tissue. Not all asbestos is created equally either. If you did not mine it or manufacture with it, the biggest risk is lawyers.
What you're referring to there is asbestosis, which is one hazard of asbestos. But it isn't the only mechanism by which asbestos damages your lungs or causes cancer, and I'm not joking when I say that poking (and generally physically interacting with) your DNA is one of them. Here's a quote from this paper about carcinogenic mechanisms of asbestos: "Fiber interactions with macromolecules in target cells can lead to genetic alterations, such as the activation of oncogenes or the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. These fiber- target cell interactions, which result in clinically evident neoplasia, can occur through various postulated mechanisms, including oxidant-induced genetic alteration and direct fiber-chromosome interactions."
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Stephen, I was skeptical when I first read your concerns with asbestos. I stand corrected....again. Another example of science changing since I was in school.
A much better understanding of how alteration in one's DNA can directly cause certain cancers. This was unknown when I was a student.
Post subject: Is Tiger's Eye toxic if the bead is chipped off?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:55 am
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:29 pm Posts: 10
Hey
So I recently noticed one of the beads on my bracelet is chipped off. It seems the other part of it is gonna go soon as well. Is this dangerous, since they say there's asbestos in it? Should I throw it away?
Inside the bead is a matte/dull color, while the outside is shiny. I think it happened recently since I think I heard some little noises of something falling. Maybe it cracked off. Not sure how since some people say its harder than aluminum. (Was worried about scratching my macbook pro but some people said the tiger's eye would scratch my laptop first.)
It's not so much that there is asbeatos inside it, as that it's made of asbestos. Powdering it and inhaling thr powder may be dangerous, but larger chips probably not.
Aluminum is like a 3.5 on the moh's scale. It'll never scratch quartz, but it will leave silvery streaks which might be annoying to get off. This is why an aluminum stylus (fancy way of saying an aluminum knitting needle you bought at Joann's Fabrics) is used for marking slabs for cutting cabochons. It will readily smear across all but the softest materials and leaves a bright, noticeable mark that does not rub off easily.
Post subject: Re: Is Tiger's Eye toxic if the bead is chipped off?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:34 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:01 pm Posts: 1902 Location: Pine City, NY and Dothan, AL
Tigereye is around 7 Mohs.
Never used a knitting needle I'm cheap - aluminum nails from the hardware store. Grinding a point on a length of 12 gauge copper wire works pretty good, too.
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