| Old rules, which regulated only Swiss blue and London blue topaz, have been expanded to also regulate sky blue topaz beginning November 30. The NRC stressed, however, that there is no reason to believe blue topaz or any other irradiated gemstone pose any health risk. |
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a statement recently clarifying the issue about irradiated gemstones, most notably blue topaz, after members of the jewellery industry and consumers made "numerous inquiries" that reflected "confusion and misinformation" about the issue.
Sometime middle of this year, the NRC tightened its licensing requirements, announcing that only distributors licensed by the NRC can distribute such irradiated gemstones in the US market. This basically dried up orders from the US market for blue topaz - the gemstone most affected by the tightened rules -- gem dealers in Asia told JNA.
In its statement dated November 8, NRC emphasized that licensing is required only for the initial distribution, meaning that subsequent distributors: individual jewellers or retailers need not be licensed provided the stones they sell were initially distributed by an NRC licensee.
The reason it is requiring licences for initial distributors is "to provide a safeguard against the possibility that stones might reach the market too soon after irradiation, with radioactivity above NRC limits." The licensee's role is therefore to ensure that radioactivity level in the gemstones is below NRC limits by conducting radiological surveys.
This does not mean that gemstones irradiated in reactors, such as Swiss blue and London blue topaz, or in accelerators, such as sky blue topaz -- which the tightened regulations will cover beginning November 30, 2007 -- are unsafe, NRC stressed. "There is no reason to believe blue topaz or any other irradiated gemstone pose any health risk, much less cancer. The NRC has not advised, requested or ordered any retailers or distributors to stop selling irradiated gemstones," it said.
So why did several US retailers, such as Stuller Inc, stop selling blue topaz since July? "This was voluntary action on their part. The NRC did not request or impose any such action," the agency said. Indeed, Stuller has said that it does not claim that there are any health or safety issues related to the stones, rather, it was because nobody has an NRC licence.
This changed in November 2007 when with NRC granted two companies distribution licenses: blue topaz-specialist, Ostro Minerals Schweiz AG and Zimmermann BCS Stones GmbH. NRC said it is reviewing other license applications.
Source: http://www.jewellerynetasia.com |
