Lapidary Work Safety Precautions | CRATEX

Three Routes of Chemical Entry: Breathing, Skin Contact and Eyes

Lapidary work is a unique, beautiful art with some serious health risks that mustn't be overlooked. Primary routes by which dangerous substances can enter the body of a lapidary artist are inhalation (breathing), skin and eye absorption.

Namely, we’ve seen that lapidary work involves a lot of cutting, grinding and polishing of the gemstones and those operations cause stone dusts that can be very hazardous. Besides, polishing compounds and pastes are made or various chemical and abrasives that can also represent a serious health risk.

One of the most common occupational diseases among people who cut and polish stones are silicosis and silicotuberculosis. Silicosis is a serious lung disease that can even be deadly and is caused by inhalation of stone dust as well as organic material dusts (quartz, granite, sandstone, brownstone, slate, jasper, opal, onyx, amethyst, soapstone, diabase and serpentine).

It manifests as inflammation and scaring in the upper lobes of the lungs. Diamond-saw cutting of the gemstones can produce oil mists. Oil mists can form aerosols which if breathed in can cause serious lung damage. Soapstone, serpentine and greenstone often contain asbestos which if inhaled can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma (type of cancer that develops from a thin layer of tissue that covers internal organs) and asbestosis (long-term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos).

Dusts as well as the flying fragments, especially when doing the drilling, can also cause serious damage to the eyes.

Dermatitis, or the inflammation of the skin, is another group of diseases that can be fostered by various cutting fluids (oils and lubricants) soaps and water used in lapidary work. Namely, the water in the systems of lapidary cutting machines is often rarely changed, which means that it can easily grow fungus and molds.

What adds to the seriousness of water that sits for so long in lapidary workshops it the facts that there were even cases of lapidary suffering from Legionnaires' disease which is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. The bacteria contaminate the water and is spread by inhaling the mist that contains it.

Electrocution, death or injury caused by electric shock is also a danger. A lapidary can also suffer from the “vibrating syndrome” or “white fingers” disease which is caused by the continued use of electric, vibrating tools.

Safety Precautions to Use

One of the best ways to protect yourself is to be fully aware of the danger of the materials and tools that you are working with. For example, in case you are working wet, you need to get flexible shaft attachments to keep the electric tools away from water splashes, and you need to get a ground fault interrupter for the equipment wiring.

Make sure you pick power tools that produce low vibrations and have comfortable hand grips to prevent “white fingers”. Don’t grip them too tightly, take breaks and make sure your work environment isn’t cold. Wear hearing protection if you need to and, of course, an eye protection is a must.

Also, one of the first things you should do is get Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all products that you are working with and get familiar with the dangers of the material you are cutting, and abrasive material used for grinding or polishing. Routine chest X-rays are highly recommendable.

Wear waterproof clothing when preforming lapidary work and choose cutting oils that don’t contain nitrates or amines. If your work clothing does get contaminated with oils, it’s best to change it immediately and have it dry cleaned. Make sure you wash the exposed areas of skin with soap and water, shower frequently and use nonamine barrier creams as protection.

Always think of Legionella bacteria and get that dirty water changed frequently! You might not be the lucky owner of these exact bacteria in your workshop, but some other nasty bacteria and mold will build up in the containers for sure. So, don’t be nasty, keep a tidy workspace!

What isn’t as serious as the health risks and diseases described above are the ugly and uncomfortable damages to your fingers and fingernails that are very often in this line of work. Some people use wax to adhere a dop stick to the back of the stone, so that they can maneuver it on the wheels easily and safely, but other people don’t like to do this and prefer to work with their hands (and in some cases, hands are the only tool you’ve got).

Be very careful not let the surface of your wheels touch the surface of your fingernails. It is something that you won’t notice while working, but after you’re done with a few stones, you’ll have raw, thin and sore fingernails for the next three days. Also, don’t let your fingers to touch the sides of the wheels as you’ll get open cuts. They’ll hurt for sure, but more importantly, an open wound, abrasive material and water are not a very good combination to say the least. So, be careful and keep your little piggies safe!

Quick tip: An easy, quick and cheap way to protect your fingers is to wrap alligator tape around the fingers you use in your lapidary work.

Another advice would be to make sure that the hose you hook up to the machine with wheels drains the water properly. If it doesn’t, you’ll get water all over your working table and floor. Since you could easily spend the day without mopping up the floor and wiping up your work surface, always check if your drain hose is properly in place. In case the water is dirty or there are unsecured power tools around, the importance of checking the hose before you start working gets a new dimension.

And remember: always remove your blades when you finish work and store them properly.