Side Effects of Toxic Metals
If you saw the HBO series Chernobyl and made it to the fourth episode, you probably remember seeing the firefighters and plant employees dying of radiation poisoning or acute radiation syndrome (that’s factually correct for the most part). Depending on how much radiation one has been exposed to, their death can be long and slow or fast enough to kill them within a matter of days. You see the people in Chernobyl die rather quickly given that they were directly exposed to graphite and uranium from the blown up reactor’s core. You see them suffer all kinds of different problems from skin burns, ulcers, liver problems, kidney problems, gastrointestinal problems. These are the side effects of being exposed to a radioactive metal (like graphite) otherwise known as a toxic metal.
I know what you’re thinking. Why are you getting so dark? What’s your deal with the Chernobyl accident? What does it have to do with jewelry? I thought this was supposed to be a sustainable jewelry company’s blog! We’re getting there. Hang on a minute!
Yes I will admit I’m really fascinated by the Chernobyl accident because of all the science behind it and all the strange things that have happened in its aftermath. There’s a whole colony of feral dogs living there for crying out loud! It showed me just how dangerous dealing with radioactive metals and liquids are. Unfortunately, their use used to be commonplace in making jewelry and it shows up in older pieces. And in cheap pieces made by shady jewelry companies.
Toxic metals that show up in jewelry include lead, arsenic, mercury, berylillium, chromium, cadmium, antimony, aluminum, selenium, and nickel. All of these metals have some level of radioactivity that is far above “the okay” amount. The laundry list of problems that can be traced back to some of these materials include:
Lung disease, lung cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, skin cancer, asthma, serious nerve damage, liver disease, birth defects, infertility, miscarriages, nasal sinus, lung, and larynx cancer, tremors, pulmonary edema, anemia, osteoporosis, emphysema, allergic reactions, and more that I probably do not know about!
So, what can we take away from this? Because we already know that these metals are called toxic metals for a reason, right? What’s the point? The point is to a) do what you can to avoid jewelry made from these metals, b) share this with your friends and loved ones so they can avoid toxic metals, and c) take action to make sure that companies who still use these banned materials in their jewelry are held accountable. That way, we can all enjoy wearing our beautiful pieces of jewelry without worrying about if it will kill us.