Cinnabar (cinnabarite) is a red-colored mineral that is mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is a toxic compound that has been known since antiquity. Exposure may be followed by acute or chronic mercury poisoning.
Sources of exposure to cinnabar:
(1) mining or handling cinnabar
(2) rock or mineral collecting
(3) Chinese red lacquer
(4) Mayan or other antiquities covered with cinnabar
Ways of handling cinnabar associated with increased risk of toxicity
(1) preparing or handling powdered cinnabar
(2) inhaling smoke from a fire affecting any of the sources above
(3) ingestion as a folk medicine
(4) small child chewing on any of the above
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