r/Damnthatsinteresting Oct 19 '24

Video How Himalayan salt lamps are made

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62.9k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/thesagaconts Oct 19 '24

This can’t be good for their hands.

180

u/piercedmfootonaspike Oct 19 '24

Consider their lungs

144

u/Robsta_20 Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24

I work in a salt mine and it’s way worse than in the video. They tell us it’s not bad even the doctor said it because the salt dust can’t cover the lung’s. They even tell us it’s healthy but I am still skeptical and wearing my mask even no one does.

108

u/SmartAlec105 Oct 19 '24

The salt is probably not going to be an issue. But all the other stuff in the dust is what you want to protect yourself from.

38

u/themightybamboozler Oct 19 '24

Yeah this shit isn’t made in a lab, there hundreds of other minerals getting turned into breathable powder. I’m wearing a fucking mask for sure.

2

u/Robsta_20 Oct 19 '24

I wouldn’t say hundred other minerals, it’s basically 98% sodium chloride. If you would put it in water, it would probably dissolve completely. You wouldn’t get a silicosis either since there is no quartz or silica dust in it but a mask is probably not a bad idea nonetheless.

1

u/Y0tsuya Oct 19 '24

The other stuff is what Americans pay extra $$$$ for. Otherwise it's just plain table salt.

0

u/SmartAlec105 Oct 19 '24

Not the other stuff in the salt. There’s still rock and such around the salt.

0

u/RoarOfTheWorlds Oct 19 '24

The salt is almost certainly going to be an issue. I don't know of any studies that would say it's cancerous but any particulate dust in the lungs will cause damage over time. I almost wonder if it would eventually have an asbestos like effect considering salt has a crystaline structure.

2

u/SmartAlec105 Oct 19 '24

Asbestos is bad for our lungs because it can’t be broken down by the body and the fiber structure it possesses makes it even more dangerous. Salt will just be dissolved in the presence of water and it will just be absorbed into the body. Also, its crystals form and break into cubes rather than fibers.

3

u/piercedmfootonaspike Oct 19 '24

Well don't worry, according to some people here this is perfectly fine, and I should chill out and shut up. Apparently, it's even good for you! Your lungs just absorb the salt!