What minerals should you not keep at home?

Stones in jewelry should be stored in special boxes and caskets only in a dark place. Individual items (for example, with diamonds, corundums or silver) that you do not wear often should be additionally packaged individually in tightly sealed plastic bags (jewelry is most often sold in such bags today). The issue of tight (almost airtight) packaging is especially acute for opals, pearls and mother-of-pearl, as they tend to dry out and crack from excessive dryness in the room. The same applies to turquoise, which turns green in the air. Remember that diamonds in jewelry lying in a common heap can severely scratch and spoil all other stones, including such hard and “eternal” ones as noble corundums (sapphires and rubies). Moreover, they cannot be raked into one pile, crushed and crushed in your hands – then scratches are guaranteed. Softer stones – spinels, topazes, emeralds, aquamarines, and even more so synthetic cubic zirconia – will suffer even more. Cut diamonds have sharp edges and corners. Repairing diamond scratches on large noble stones will be quite expensive and will result in a loss of weight of the stone. Cubic zirconia and very small gemstones will have to be replaced; they cannot be restored. Soft minerals such as amber will be irrevocably damaged, since they will then refuse to restore it. Gold is a soft metal, but can be repolished if the scratches are shallow. Remember that natural opals can crack from excessive dryness and heat. In principle, they cannot be wetted with water, much less washed with soap. They should not be left in the sun for a long time. Before purchasing them, consult the seller about their storage conditions. It is best to wear them often and store them in a dark box in an airtight bag. Synthetic opals are durable and can be stored just like regular cubic zirconia (without undue precautions). There is no need to store jewelry with any natural stones displayed in jewelry boxes (or other open places) on shelves in daylight for public viewing (not only for safety reasons, but also for maximum preservation of the natural stone). The same applies to beads made of coral, pearls and mother-of-pearl, mineral samples that should not gather dust in the sun. Synthetic corundum and cubic zirconia are not afraid of light. Registered: 22 Jan 2010, 10:23
Messages: 1928
From: Kazan
Re: Storing stones at home in home collections and caring for stones How to store your home collection of rocks and minerals Mineralogists and geologists sometimes assemble a collection of minerals, which may require one or more cabinets and many shelving to store them. However, amateurs hardly have the desire or opportunity to collect such extensive mineralogical material. In order to preserve your collection as much as possible (no matter how large or small), you need to follow a number of simple recommendations. This is especially true for those who purchase minerals and stones for money. Samples should not gather dust, be dropped on the floor or table, or even hit each other. Store minerals on shelves or in boxes, with the minerals arranged in a single layer in the boxes. Never store minerals in light or on open shelves, which may become discolored or discolored by sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. Such samples are briefly removed from completely dark boxes. As a last resort, a shelf with such samples should be tightly hung without gaps with special curtains and curtains made of special fabric in order to completely exclude light from entering while the sample is not being shown to the visitor. Each individual non-brittle mineral should be in a tightly sealed plastic bag without cracks or holes. Now on sale there are convenient resealable plastic bags and small bags of almost any size. At any time you can remove a sample and admire it. Do not store several samples in one bag, especially those of different hardness, as some of them will certainly scratch and damage others. Store all easily breakable and fragile specimens in individual hard cardboard or plastic boxes lined with soft paper towels. Each such box is then packed in an individual plastic bag. Particularly fragile samples should be packed in glass containers and not come into contact with anything. Ideally, each valuable specimen should be contained in a small plastic box (securely packaged there), and the box would then be sealed in a fairly airtight plastic bag. All the boxes are then placed in a box or box. Some extremely fragile samples can only be stored in special glass containers, but glass requires extra care. Registered: 22 Jan 2010, 10:23
Messages: 1928
From: Kazan
Re: Storing stones at home in home collections and caring for stones Cleaning samples Most minerals can be washed with plain water or synthetic detergent solutions. The sample should first be wetted in clean water, otherwise, after drying, white discolorations that are difficult to remove may appear on it. It is not recommended to use soap to clean carbonates – this can cause the appearance of an insoluble dull coating. To avoid cracking the crystals, the water should not be hot. Native sulfur, realgar, some varieties of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and fahlores are especially sensitive to temperature changes. The crystals of these minerals are washed with water at room temperature. Do not wash easily soluble minerals with water. Hard and dense samples are washed with a stiff brush, recesses – with a brush. Constant and abundant moisturizing helps to avoid scratches from solid particles. For washing, you can use a stream of water from a hose attached to a water tap. Recesses and cavities are washed with a strong high-pressure jet from a tip with a narrow hole. To catch valuable pieces and small crystals, samples are washed in a basin. Stuck grains are removed with a needle, drawing pen or bamboo sliver. Samples with delicate and fragile needle-shaped crystals are washed with a gentle stream or dipped into water with the side to be washed. Long tufts of hair-like crystals do not allow even such careful washing: in water they stick together, free crystals fall out, and the sample loses its natural appearance. In such cases, you have to limit yourself to careful blowing from your mouth or a rubber bulb, and remove the stuck particles with a needle or a thin bamboo sliver. The most difficult thing to remove is clay and lichens adhering to the surface of the stone. It is useless to try to clean the recesses with a brush: the clay only gets into the corners and holds on very tenaciously. It is best to wash it with a high-pressure jet or wait until it dries completely: in this case, the clay cracks, lags behind the surface and is easily removed with a needle or sliver. Soaking in a solution of ammonia, kerosene or vinegar and treating with a stream of hot steam also helps. The lichens are softened by soaking in an ammonia solution and then scraped off with a needle, razor blade, wire brush or sliver. After drying, concentrated sulfuric acid is applied to the residue; After an hour or more, the sample is rinsed, the charred lichens are brushed off and washed thoroughly. Bitumen, oils, and fats are removed with gasoline or turpentine. Ultrasonic cleaning (at a frequency of 20-30 kHz) with washing solutions is known, which is effective for common contaminants (clay, chlorite crusts), especially when the samples contain fragile crystals that cannot be washed with a brush. Separation of clay and chlorites may require more than an hour. The main condition is that the household ultrasonic washing machine you use must be ultrasonic and not counterfeit. Registered: 22 Jan 2010, 10:23
Messages: 1928
From: Kazan
Re: Storing stones at home in home collections and caring for stones Protecting samples from destruction Some minerals in the collection become unstable: the air is too humid for some, too dry for others; some are sensitive to oxygen, others to light. In this regard, individual exhibits require special preventive treatment to prevent their destruction. Many sulfides are susceptible to oxidation, especially pyrite, and to an even greater extent marcasite and cobalt and nickel sulfides. Pyrite and marcasite from fossil coals and other sedimentary rocks—concretions and pseudomorphs of plants and animals—oxidize most quickly. Fractures and porosity accelerate oxidation. The samples begin to emit a specific smell, become overgrown with white efflorescences and needle-shaped sulfate crystals (especially along cracks and grain boundaries), the edges become dull and corrode, boxes and labels become covered with brownish spots and are destroyed. Neighboring minerals may be involved in the oxidation process. Oxidation progresses faster the further it goes, so only early prevention is effective. Foreign literature reports positive results of treatment with antibiotics that destroy bacteria that are actively involved in sulfide oxidation processes. Fresh samples are treated with an antibiotic solution (penicillin, erythromycin) or rubbed with the drug powder. If destruction has already begun, then protection comes down to the complete removal of oxidation products, dehydration and preservation of the sample using some kind of sealing coating. The sample is treated with hydrochloric, hydrofluoric or oxalic acid and washed for a long time with clean water. To neutralize traces of acid, the presence of which promotes oxidation, the sample is placed for 12-24 hours in a closed vessel, inside of which there is a strong ammonia solution in a separate vessel. Exposed thin deposits of limonite are cleaned with a dry brush or suede. Then the sample is washed by immersion for 15-20 minutes in pure ethyl alcohol, dried in air or with low heat, and a protective coating is applied in one of two ways:
1) by boiling in vegetable oil;
2) by immersing it twice in the varnishing solution for 15-20 minutes, drying each time for about a day. The varnishing solution is a colorless oil varnish diluted with turpentine or white spirit 2-4 times, or a 7-10% solution of polyvinyl acetate in a mixture of equal volumes of acetone and toluene. You can add a little antibiotic to the solution. The protection of both hygroscopic and dehydrating minerals consists of applying a preservative coating of diluted varnish – tsapon, oil or polyvinyl acetate – to dry samples. For goethite crystals, the varnish will simultaneously serve as a reinforcing binder; the same role is played by impregnation with liquid starch paste, repeated every 2-3 years. Dehydrating vitriols – iron and copper sulfates – deteriorate less if they are dipped in ethyl alcohol and dried in the shade. Opals (with the exception of some varieties of noble opal) spontaneously lose adsorbed water, become cloudy and crumble; fresh samples must be kept in glycerin or petroleum jelly for 3-6 months. Samples subjected to preventive treatment should not be washed with water or aqueous solutions. Refining stones with radioactive irradiation is a method of improving their external characteristics, which the average consumer, unfortunately, knows little or is not aware of at all. The method is effective, but extremely dangerous for the health of the person who will wear these radioactive stones.

Read more about the method of refining stones using radiation

• cornelian
• topaz
• agate
• tourmaline
• amethyst
• some types of beryl

Irradiated stone looks very attractive, but what is such beauty worth? Uncontrolled refining is dangerous because it destabilizes atoms and significantly increases the radiation emission of the mineral. The problem is that during irradiation, the radiation spectrum of the reactor remains beyond control. Few people analyze the degree of interaction of radiation with the chemical elements that are part of the structure of the stone. Moreover, it is not checked in what quantity and where exactly (inside or on the surface) radioactive particles remain on the mineral.

The method of irradiating minerals in a nuclear reactor is quite expensive. In the CIS countries, a cheaper method is also usually used – x-ray radiation. It can also significantly increase the level of radioactivity in stones, since this process is in most cases uncontrolled. Irradiation in an X-ray installation causes an increase in decay reactions in stones, as a result of which their level of radioactivity may exceed the permissible level. Therefore, if you are offered amethysts or topazes of excessively intense color, then without measuring radioactivity with a dosimeter, it is better to refrain from making a risky purchase.

Why are radioactive stones dangerous?

Signs of previous irradiation include not only an unusually bright color of the stone, but also a color that is not entirely characteristic of it, and a strange pattern. This does not always mean that the mineral was irradiated uncontrollably, but it is worth being wary. For example, relatively small pale pink morganites (one of the varieties of beryl) can be enriched with microdoses of compounds of the radioactive element cesium. Moreover, their level of radioactivity usually does not exceed 0,19-0,24 μSv/h or 19-24 μR/h.

But, if you see a margonite in front of you that is too large and has an unusually bright color, there is a high probability that it is a radioactive stone hazardous to health, since uncontrolled irradiation methods were used during its processing.

Normally, the exposure dose of ionizing radiation near a stone should not exceed the natural radiation background of the area in which you are located. Usually this is no more than 0,10 -0,25 μSv/h or 10 – 25 μR/h. A level of radioactivity in a mineral exceeding 0,3 μSv/h or 30 μR/h is considered dangerous. Such stones cannot only be worn on the body, but also kept in the house or office. In prolonged contact with the skin, they can cause serious deterioration in health, including the formation of cancerous tumors in organs located near the point of contact.

Naturally radioactive stones

Most non-irradiated stones and minerals are safe for humans. But there are specimens with increased radioactivity, which are dangerous to your health if you keep them with you or wear them on your body. In particular, these include:

• Celestine (strontium sulfate). It is more often found on sale in the form of interior decorations rather than jewelry.
• Zircon (zirconium silicate). You should not purchase this stone on the black market or in a store with a dubious reputation unless you have a radiation dosimeter with you.
• Heliodor (a type of beryl). The darker and larger the stone, the higher the likelihood of danger emanating from it.

The level of radioactivity of these minerals does not always exceed the norm, but it does not hurt to check the purchased samples with a dosimeter.

Measuring the radioactivity of stones as a method of protection

Sellers of jewelry with radioactive stones do not always intentionally deceive buyers. Often they are not aware of the danger that comes from such a product. Even being aware that the mineral was irradiated, many remain completely unaware of the consequences of such refining. Reasons: lack of special knowledge and education, lack of understanding of the very essence of this phenomenon. And how can you prove that the product you are buying is dangerous to wear?

It is truly impossible to do this without special devices. That is why many jewelers and craftsmen who work with stones always carry a portable radiation dosimeter with them. It helps to measure the dose rate of ionizing radiation near the object of interest. In this case, in close proximity to the decorative stone.

This is how they work with a dosimeter. First, the radiation background of the room is measured at a distance from the intended source of radiation. It is advisable to take measurements in several places and calculate the average. Then they begin to check the dose rate of the radiation that comes from the stones. If their level of radioactivity matches the background, then everything is fine. If there is a steady increase in the level of the natural background of the room, you should get rid of the stone immediately.

Which dosimeter is best to use to check the radiation safety of a stone?

It is most wise to use a dosimeter at the purchase stage, so as not to bring into the house ornamental raw materials or decorations that are hazardous to health. The optimal device for these purposes is a miniature radiation dosimeter RADEX ONE. The SBM-20 sensor installed in it detects beta and gamma radiation, taking into account x-ray radiation. The device is comparable in size and weight to a regular highlighter marker, so it will even fit in your pocket.

It’s even better to take a dosimeter to check RADEX RD1008, which also senses alpha radiation. Its dimensions are larger, but it will help identify stones irradiated not only in X-ray installations, but also in a nuclear reactor. The same dosimeters are suitable for measuring the level of radioactivity of previously purchased stones.

С radiation dosimeters RADEX you will protect yourself from purchasing malicious jewelry and interior items and check what you have already purchased. These devices will help you control the ecology of your own home and the radiation purity of the things you come into contact with.

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