Precious stones that may contain radiation. Radioactive minerals and gems

Poisonous and radioactive dangerous stones and minerals ** - poisonous stones and minerals (mandatory testing in a chemical laboratory + clear indication of toxicity) ** - radioactive stones and minerals (mandatory testing on a standard dosimeter + ban on open sales in case of radioactivity over 24 milliroentgen / hour + additional measures to protect the population) Adamine * Annabergite * Erythrine * Antimonite * Arsenolite ** Arsenopyrite ** Oripigment ** Baildonite * Beryl ** Betafit ** Bismuthinite * Breithauptite * Witherite * Gadolinite ** Halite ** Geocronite * Glaucodotus * Decloysite * Mottramite * Jordanite * Carnotite ** Cinnabar ** Cobaltine * Cottunite * Lyroconite * Marcasite * Monazite * Ammonia * Nickelin * Othenite ** Pyromorphite * Pyrochlore * Proustite * Rammelsbergite * Realgar ** Mercury * Senarmontite * Sulfur * Skutterudite * Strontianite ** Antimony * Tetrahedrite * Thorianite ** Thorite ** Uraninite ** Pharmacolite * Chalcocite * Hutchinsonite * Celestine ** Zircon ** Euxenite ** Enargite * Aeschinite ** Conichalcite Very dangerous and potentially dangerous stones and minerals. (article taken from the forum about stones) I’ve been meaning to write this note for a long time, because... It seems like no one has touched on this topic on this resource yet... I know and see that many sellers/craftsmen really like to buy stones on ebay or alibaba. Of course, these auctions are extremely useful for the master, because... prices for accessories and stones are several orders of magnitude lower there, and the choice is huge. But there are a few "buts". 1. A huge number of fake stones for a dollar a bucket. Only at such auctions can you buy garnet beads of perfect transparency for a couple of dollars, as well as buy a cabochon of larimar or natural turquoise for 3-4 dollars. Do you think the worst thing is if instead of a pomegranate they slip you garnet glass? Or 100% natural larimar with turquoise will be in best case scenario, painted agate? No. There is also point 2. There is a high probability that, under the guise of harmless rock crystal, an unscrupulous seller will make you happy, for example, with celestine, a mineral that is far from harmless. And even if the seller is a relatively honest comrade, then by purchasing colored beryl beads from such a seller under the guise of a natural, but inexpensive and opaque “emerald,” you can provide your buyer with good radiation exposure, because beryl is a potentially radioactive stone (like, in fact, many of the minerals common in jewelry). And it’s one thing to have a small pebble tested by dosimetric examination, and quite another to have clearly untested beryl beads in three or four rows. Therefore, my dear master sellers, I ask you - do not buy dubious stones from dubious sellers. And if you bought it, try to check these stones with specialists. You purchased, manufactured and sold. And the buyer will have to carry it all on himself. And someone can give the child a trinket to play with. And he, naturally, will put it in his mouth. And how it will end - only God knows. Therefore, I am publishing a list of the most dangerous and potentially dangerous minerals: The most dangerous red cinnabar is mercury sulfide. An extremely attractive-looking, poisonous and difficult to remove from the body mercury salt. It is especially dangerous when taken orally with water and food. Blue celestine, by mistake, negligence or ignorance, is used instead of blue aquamarine and rock crystal in lithotherapy. The most dangerous water-soluble salt of strontium is the most dangerous tumbling of Madagascar celestine, similar to beryl. By mistake, it can be worn instead of blue sapphire (table corundum) and blue kyanite jewelry. The most dangerous “stone of judges” is an opaque natural zircon with abundant rare earths and a crystal lattice significantly damaged by radiation. Green zircons are especially dangerous. Cesium-containing red beryl morganite and golden-greenish beryl heliodor, delicately colored with uranium isotopes, cannot be refined in any installations emitting X-rays and radiation and require mandatory dosimetric certification in metrology. Very rare, but no less dangerous, poisonous green conicalcite is an arsenate, that is, it contains arsenic. Photo on the right - green pomegranate uvarovite, which is similar to conicalcite. It is very dangerous in powder, since, unlike uvarovite, it can be ground - criminal lithotherapists add poisonous conicalcite powder to food, causing poisoning and death. A very dangerous radioactive uraninite that accumulates in pegmatites and hydrothermal deposits is uranium oxide. Easily changed and modified in air. The form of uraninite is the most diverse. It was precisely because of the presence of this most dangerous natural mineral that the helium-bearing mines of the Volodar-Volyn pegmatite field in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine were closed to uncontrolled access. Access to these mines for any purpose is permitted to authorized employees of specialized state enterprises if they have working standard and portable dosimeters, reliable plans and working mine navigation devices. Silvery, shining facets, very dangerous arsenopyrite - a compound of arsenic, iron and sulfur. Extremely dangerous upon contact with the body, ingestion, enters the body upon contact with mucous membranes. Like any arsenic compound, it is very poisonous and death occurs very quickly. Blue-black stibnite, which is completely safe for human contact, is antimony sulfide; when taken orally in powder form, it can cause poisoning and even death. Its name translates as “against the monks” - in one of the monasteries, an unscrupulous kitchen worker seasoned the monastery food with stibnite powder and poisoned his “brothers”.

Minerals and gems

Radioactive method refining (by irradiation with streams of high-energy elementary particles using nuclear reactors operating on uranium or plutonium) is usually hidden from the consumer, but the most dangerous method for human health to improve the qualities of any stones. At best, the consumer will be casually told that the mineral has been irradiated. Given the complete illiteracy of the population, the consumer simply will not pay attention to this. And the radiation icon familiar to many will not be nearby. Even when offering poisonous stones (for example, conichalcite or cinnabar) for exchange or sale, future owners are not warned about the danger of poisoning, let alone radiation, which is invisible, inaudible and unfelt...

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Topaz

Semiprecious pink, golden and blue stone:

Even though gemstones are very beautiful, they can also carry negative energy. This is, first of all, topaz. Almost all topazes are obtained by gamma irradiation followed by heating. If these stones, after such an execution, are not kept in lead boxes for at least 2-3 weeks, they will “foil” like small reactors. And I do not envy those ladies who wear such jewelry in their chest area, or in their ears or on their fingers. 99% of topazes on the Russian jewelry market have an irradiated color, not natural. The price of natural blue topaz reaches $200 per carat.

Charoite

The mineral was discovered in 1948 near the Chara River in the Irkutsk region. He captivated his discoverers with incredible beauty - he had purple colour various shades.

It later turned out that charoite is a very common mineral canasite, consisting of potassium, sodium and silicon. But thanks to the fact that it contains radioactive strontium, it turns from yellow-orange to purple. There is no such color anywhere else in the world. Because of strontium, stones in jewelry can become “phonous.” Therefore, before sending a mineral for sale, the manufacturer is obliged to test it for radioactivity.

An example from life. A deposit of lilac stone was developed near Irkutsk. And helicopter pilots transported the sawed-off charoite blocks to Irkurstk. One game was missing. The pilot scratched and scratched his head, brought it home and lined the bathtub and toilet. Foreign delegations took him to see him and showed him how ordinary helicopter pilots lived in the Soviet Union. Because only Arab sheikhs could afford such a luxury. Maybe it would be funny if it weren't so sad. Within two years, the whole family went to their forefathers because of leukemia. So in such huge quantities, untested stones can pose a huge danger.

Source: (c) Yuri Lapin

http://bloknot-voronezh.ru/novosti/59210

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Celestine

A rather soft mineral (hardness 3-3.5 units), which is now called celestine, was first discovered in Sicily in 1781. this modern name strontium sulfate(SrSO4) was obtained in 1798 thanks to the initiative of the German mineralogist A. Werner. He used the ancient Greek word caelestial (heavenly) to emphasize the delicate blue color of the crystals of the mineral he described. Traces of calcium and barium can sometimes be found in celestine. It is thanks to these substances that celestine crystals fluoresce in ultraviolet light. Celestite crystals are of hydrothermal origin and are found among granites and pegmatites formed at very high temperatures. Used as strontium ore. The mineral definitely cannot be dissolved in water or irradiated with anything, as this can have very dangerous consequences.

However, sometimes celestine crystals are formed as a result of the drying out of small bodies of salt water. This happens because celestine is soluble in water. According to some sources, the skeletons of such marine unicellular organisms as radiolarians consist of strontium sulfate. Such delicate skeletons are prevented from dissolving in water by a thin protein film, which disappears after the death of the creator cell.

Beryls

This is not the only stone of its kind with naturally elevated levels of radiation. For example, the yellow and golden-green varieties of beryl called heliodors, are colored this way because they contain Uranus. A variety of pink and crimson beryl called morganite (sparrow) contains atoms cesium. These minerals definitely should not be irradiated with anything additional (neither with X-rays, nor especially in a nuclear reactor), and in general, it makes sense to refrain from purchasing and wearing particularly large stones, regardless of their jewelry value, rarity and beauty.

We all know about such radioactive isotopes of uranium and plutonium, and, and. Many of them are specifically created for medical and scientific use. However, often our acquaintance with them goes unnoticed and at the same time sad for us and our health. Not all of us know how to protect ourselves from radiation at home, but even our favorite jewelry can be a source of radiation.

Charoite. Why is this stone dangerous?

Charoite is a completely harmless mineral. This ornamental stone has many shades purple and is often used in the making of rings, bracelets and other inexpensive jewelry. The danger in this case is represented by inclusions of thorium and uranium, which often accompany charoite deposits. Sometimes they can even be seen by black and dark inclusions on the stones. As a result, long contact Carrying such radioactive stones has a detrimental effect on health. Therefore, responsible manufacturers test the raw materials used in the production of jewelry for radioactivity. At the same time, there are a great many minerals that do not contain radioactive impurities. The list and photos of semi-precious stones of this type are very wide and include such popular ones as sapphires, emeralds, topazes and others.

Radioactive refining of precious stones

In addition to "natural radiation" modern science prepared another surprise for us. Radioactive refining of precious and semi-precious stones, which improves the color of the mineral, is carried out using powerful radioactive isotope accelerators. And even though the dose emitted by such a mineral is small, wearing such jewelry for a long time, as a rule, affects human health.

Radioactive minerals- minerals containing natural radioactive elements (long-lived isotopes of the radioactive series 238 U, 235 U and 232 Th) in quantities significantly exceeding their average content in the earth's crust (clarks). More than 300 radioactive minerals are known. Radioactive minerals containing uranium, thorium, or both. Variety of radioactive minerals belonging to various classes and groups, due to the presence of uranium in tetra- and hexavalent forms, the isomorphism of tetravalent uranium with Th, rare earth elements (TR), Zr and Ca, as well as the isomorphism of thorium with TR of the cerium subgroup.

A distinction is made between radioactive minerals, in which uranium (uranium minerals) or thorium (thorium minerals) are present as the main component, and radioactive minerals, in which radioactive elements are included as an isomorphic impurity (uranium- and/or thorium-containing minerals). Radioactive minerals formally do not include minerals containing a mechanical admixture of radioactive minerals (mineral mixtures) or radioactive elements in sorbed form.

Radioactive minerals, especially those with a high content of uranium, especially large stones (the rate of natural radiation is 17-24 milliroentgen/hour), are dangerous to health and require special precautions in handling. An increased level of radiation from stones and minerals is a radiation level of 29-32 milliroentgen/hour and above. It is not recommended to carry or touch with hands - these minerals cause damage (including trophic ulcers on the skin and in the intestines when taken orally). In any case, for reasons of safety and environmental friendliness, it is forbidden to carry these radioactive stones and minerals and especially to keep samples of them in an apartment or office (a house and an apartment are not a mineralogical museum with a permissible level of radiation from 32 to 120 milliroentgen/hour and higher for special expositions and mineralogical special storage facilities of state institutions, where this is permitted in the presence of warning signs and special statements from employees of these specialized institutions). Radioactive minerals and their derivatives are transported in special containers, including lead container boxes. Radiation from a point source and a small object decreases in proportion to the square of the distance to this object. By moving 2 m away from a dangerous object, you will reduce the level of study from this object by 4 times. By moving 10 meters away, you will reduce the level of radiation from uranium by 100 times. If an object containing uranium and thorium has a point source of radiation of 4000 milliroentgen/hour with a natural ambient radiation background of 19 milliroentgen/hour (total 4000+19 = 4019 milliroentgen/hour), moving 10 m away from the dangerous object will protect yourself up to a radiation level of 40 milliroentgen/hour from the object and 19 milliroentgen/hour from the environment (in total, the total radiation level from the object and the environment will be 40+19 = 59 milliroentgen/hour). The most dangerous is direct contact with the body and wearing on the body of point and diffuse radioactive sources and components containing thorium and especially uranium (about 50% of radiation is absorbed upon contact with the external surface of the body and about 100% of radiation is absorbed when ingesting a radioactive or contaminated object) . The most dangerous is direct contact and ingestion of radioactive components, stones and minerals, including those in crushed form and those soluble in liquid.

Do you know that Are precious stones irradiated? Can they natural stones cause harm after treatment or is it a myth - let's try to figure it out.

Case at the Diamond Exchange

Until now, the suspicions of 2015 regarding the criminal fraud with diamonds at the Diamond Exchange in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan have neither been refuted nor confirmed. It is believed that about 500 diamonds were sold there, the color of which was artificially changed. And they were sold at exorbitant prices. This case became the largest fraud in the history of the Israeli Diamond Exchange.

Refinement of stones

Why treat gemstones at all?- you ask. The answer is simple: natural resources, including stones, do not always look aesthetically pleasing, and the demand for expensive jewelry increases every year. Untreated stones often contain cracks, uneven mass, etc. And in order to give a “marketable” appearance to the gifts of nature, jewelers learned to process them. Man began to refine precious stones a long time ago. Ancient people soaked stones in honey, poisoned them with copper sulfate, heated them in wax...
Over time, chemists and physicists conducted experiments and conducted research regarding changes in the color, shape and purity of gems. Based on observations and experiments, scientists have found out what natural factors influence the transformation of transparent crystals into colored ones. And as soon as advanced methods of influencing stones came into practice, Jewelry enterprises began to receive a large number of orders for green, yellowish, and blue diamonds.
Ennoblement The process of processing stone in order to improve its visual qualities has several types: laser, impregnation, high pressure and heat, coloring, crack filling, diffusion, radiation, etc.

Radioactive treatment

Refining stones by radioactive exposure is irradiation with streams of high-energy elementary particles using nuclear reactors operating on uranium or plutonium. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous, but at the same time legal method. If a consumer learns that, for example, a stone has undergone an uncontrolled irradiation process in a nuclear reactor in a third world country, then a purchase is unlikely to follow. Such processing is usually hidden from the consumer. And if it is mentioned, it will be in passing, and the person will not attach much importance to this seemingly “detail.” Stones such as diamond, agate, carnelian, topazes (almost always), zircon, quartz, tourmaline, beryl can be exposed to radioactive irradiation.

Eg, blue topaz is the most common stone on which irradiation is used. The type of irradiation, its duration and the nature of the heating processes determine what shade topaz will acquire: intense blue, sky blue, with a greenish tint, etc.

What is the danger?

During radioactive treatment, the outcome of the process is not controlled in any way: It is not known whether dangerous elements remain on the surface of the mineral or have penetrated inside. No detailed analysis is carried out for possible nuclear reactions inside the sample during irradiation, as well as stability chemical composition upon completion of the impact.
It is also worth noting that all elements of the periodic table (after uranium and plutonium) have pronounced instability, and, therefore, radioactivity. That's why After irradiation of stones in a reactor, it is impossible to predict the decomposition reactions inside the mineral. It is only known that the level of natural radiation background of the stone increases significantly.
Such an acquired stone is fraught with a hidden danger, which, like a time bomb, begins to affect a person immediately.
But not everything is so sad. The irradiation method in certified installations (for example, intended for customs or medical institutions) is less dangerous and more affordable. X-ray radiation from such devices is less dangerous to human health.

How to protect yourself when buying jewelry?

Signs of an irradiated stone:

- uncharacteristic, too bright color mineral
- unusual, obvious design
- the color obtained artificially fades over time (even after six months), sunlight makes it fade quickly.

To buy real jewelry, you need to choose a large jewelry store that cooperates with well-known companies. Reduce the possibility of purchasing stone treated with dangerous irradiation methods.

Ask the seller for documentation jewelry- certificates, licenses, samples.

Find out whether the stone is treated with irradiation and under what conditions it was carried out.

Remember that an unirradiated blue, red or pink diamond costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per carat, but an irradiated stone can be purchased for much less. AND If you decide to buy expensive jewelry, request a radiation test.

And one more thing: science does not stand still, and new, unconventional methods of influencing natural stones are already on the way. It is hoped that in the near future, when purchasing jewelry, consumers will protected from dangerous counterfeits.