Dangerous Chemicals?

[JakePhelps]

I was grinding some sun-colored amythyst bottle fragments yesterday because they were sharp and i wanted to put them on display in my room without anyone getting cut on em, when i was grinding them with a small bit on a dremel tool (the bit made for grinding glass) I noticed alot of dust coming off the bottle, is this hazardous to breath in or get on your skin? What kind of chemicals are in old glass?

 

[Ye Olde Prospector]

Glass is made of silica and lime. Impurities can produce different colors. Prolonged breathing of the dust could cause silicosis a lung desease common to undergroung miners. The dust probably will not harm your skin but I would not recommend breathing any of the dust. Grind in well ventilated area or maybe near a vacuum cleaner nozzle to help keep dust down. Be careful.

Cliff

 

[IRISH]

Jake, if you keep a trickle of water on the item while you grind it it will stop the dust and your dremel bit will live a lot longer.
Apart from the dust hazard any toxic chemicals that may be in a glass sample are not a problem due to the very low solubility and reactivity of the glass used in bottles.

 

[JakePhelps]

Thanks for the info guys! I tried the water and vacume and it works alot better for keeping the dust down[] As for the dremel bits im not worried as they are just cheap little silicon carbide bits that still last awhile.