Is Black Tourmaline Toxic? (ANSWERED)

Yes, black tourmaline can be toxic, as it is a part of the Tourmaline family.

However, just because it is toxic, doesn’t mean that it is dangerous.

Below you’ll discover some things you should know about the black tourmaline.

Is Black Tourmaline Toxic? (EXPLAINED)

Tourmaline is a boron silicate mineral, and its color comes from inclusions (impurities) of various other materials.

These can be metals, oxides, or even other minerals, and they turn tourmaline black, brown, red, orange, green, pink, or even multi-colored.

Black tourmaline’s color is usually the result of iron impurities, though the stone may also contain any number of additional materials mixed in.

Without a scientific test to confirm the exact chemical composition, you may not even realize that your black tourmaline contains traces of other elements, such as aluminum, potassium, sodium, or manganese.

Much of the black tourmaline on the market for sale in shops is either dyed or treated with heat/radiation to bring it to a desirable look for customers.

The reason that black tourmaline is considered toxic is that the materials that it is made up of would be harmful to the human body if they were introduced to the body in such a way that the body could absorb them.

The reason that toxic tourmaline is not considered dangerous is that it is really difficult for the human body to take in those chemicals that would be harmful into the body.

Tourmaline is a crystalline rock.

It’s structure is extremely stable.

Unlike some materials, it does not dissolve into water, or generally react with water.

The various component molecules that make up tourmaline are tightly bound together, and will not easily come apart or away from each other.

You won’t absorb anything of note by touching it with bare skin.

While we don’t recommend swallowing a whole chunk of rock, even if you did swallow a piece of black tourmaline, it is likely that the rock would pass through your system before the stomach acids could really do enough to it to cause you harm.

(Meaning the stomach acid were to eat away any of the material and dissolve it into the blood stream to be carried around like other nutrients).

The primary way that people injure themselves with a substance like tourmaline is by dropping it on their feet, toes, or fingers while collecting it or working with it.

The secondary way people injure themselves with black tourmaline is by breathing particulate matter created during the collection process or cutting/polishing process.

But even then, any serious harm would require extensive exposure over time.

These types of injuries are most often observed in individuals whose career is tourmaline mining or post-mining production.

Another way that people could sicken with black tourmaline themselves is by grinding up the stone into a powder and drinking it.

Finally, depending on what has been done to the stone (dyes, polishes), you probably wouldn’t want to drink ground up black tourmaline or put tourmaline in water before you drink.

While the stone itself might not easily leech into the water (or dissolve), the exterior finish applied to the stone could dissolve into the water.

(For example, it is really common for people to polish stones with oils or commercial polishes to give it that extra shine. Water can strip these off and you would not want to drink them.)

In general, we recommend against soaking rocks and crystals like black tourmaline in water for any extended period of time (for metaphysical cleansing or in your bathwater) as the extended soaks can cause physical damage to the material over time.

So long as you wear tourmaline, hold it, and display it, you probably won’t have to worry about the dangers of toxicity.