That's a really interesting question Maki. It could well be another case of "just because it's natural it doesn't mean it's good for you"
If no one comes up with a good answer before, I'll ask my organic farming teacher tomorrow night.

DE is basically fossilised skeletons of microscopic sea organisms ground to a powder. There's no problem with sustainability in terms of its source, but you wouldn't want to inhale it. While it's a powder, it consists of microscopic slivers of the organisms' skeletons that are sharp enough to penetrate the bugs' skeletons and eventually kill them. A mask is a good idea if you use it around the garden, just as it is with anything sprinkled or sprayed around the garden. DE is also used in swimming pool filters - I remember cleaning the pool filter as a kid - but it's a different grade of DE to the pesticide.

I think it is used in the wine industry as a clarifying agent. So far as sustainability is concerned it would take as long as it takes to fossilise the material in the first place. I beleive it is mined and sold to industry and deposits are found in both coastal, wetland and inland locations wherever there is ancient sea bed.

Linda

I am confused by the comments regarding sustainability, can anyone offer some more clarity on this issue?

My understaining is that something is only considered a sustainable resource if it is being used at the same rate that it is being created or made, such as sustainaible agroforestry as opposed to felling old-growth timber. I acknowledge that this is a most simplistic interpretation of sustainability, that does not factor in things such as the emissions expelled my machinery involved in the industry as well as the water, land and resources required to sustain the people that might be employed by the industry, but you not what I'm getting at I hope.

At the moment industry and agriculture are taking water out of the great artesian basin at a greater rate than it is seeping in, and while it is an enourmous reservoir of water, that may not run out for years, the practice is acknowledged as unsustainable, likewise the petroleum industry etc etc....so presumably the mining of DE is akin to this and therefore it isn't sustainable??

respectfully, mudlark

This really was the argument that I wanted to get into, Mudlark, and thanks for bringing it up.

I personally don't think use of any natural resource that's not renewable in our lifetime can be considered sustainable. Also, if the extraction method of the substance is such that causes irreversible negative effect to the surrounding environment, I wouldn't call that sustainable either.

I brought this issue up because we've been having a bit of stink bug (family: PENTATOMIDAE) attacks on our tomatoes this year and I was tempted to give DE a go. I did some research on the Internet but more I learn about it less sure I was about the soundness of its supply/use. Nevertheless, I still wanted to give it a try if there were something like DE version of dolphin-safe-tuna, i.e. DE with a certification that no natural environment was damaged by the extraction of the substance. I couldn't find anything like it.

Mind you, I'm in no way guilt-free when it comes to the use of unrenewable resources and environmental destruction, we own two cars and we are two-person household, so the posting wasn't meant to make any current DE user feel guilty. Yet, conclusion for me for the moment is to not use it because I don't think I can justify the employment of somewhat questionable product for a few dozen humble tomatoes in our backyard.

Hoping, however, that there will be a 'dolphin-safe' DE available...

I don't believe that DE production could be classified as sustainable. So you'll need to look for other solutions.
Insecticidal soap sprays, like Natra, are supposedly effective against stink bugs and are acceptable as organic controls. Of course, they're non-selective so will kill other things too. A glue spray applied directly to the little beggars would probably work as well. And there are apparently a few predator wasps around that will attack the stink bug eggs. You'd need to plant an insectary hedge to get them into your garden and NOT use insecticides.
I don't know what the answer is.

Diatom bricks are used as insulation in kilns that potters use for firing their wares. They're very crumbly, and as Fibar pointed out, have the same lethal effects as asbestos, ie, the slivers lodge in your lungs and cut them to pieces. This process will take about thirty years, if you inhale the dust on a rare basis. It is a lot quicker if you work around them more often.
The pottery industry has stopped making them now because they are so unsustainable. It takes about half as long to make three inches of diatomaceous material, as it does to make sandstone. A fair while , by most standards.

OK..IM JUST WONDERING WHAT SHOULD I DO BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY INHALED THIS STUFF.I USE IT FOR CENTIPEDES.SINCE WHERE I LIVE WE HAVE CENTIPDE PROBLME AND I USUALLY PLACE SOME IN BOXES AND PUT IT WHERE THE INSECTS USUALLY HANG OUT.WELL MY CAT ACCIDENBTALY USED IT AS A LITTER BOX AND MADE A MESS ALL OVER SO I WAS CLEANING IT UP AND I ACCIDENTALY INHALED IT..NOW IM FREAKED OUT.IS IT HARMFUL TO HUMANS...

Aracelis.

If you used agricultural or food grade diatomaceous earth, which is 'amorphous', you have little to worry about.

Crystalline DE is the problem, but it is unlikely to be supplied to the general public.

I've found in my online research that Diatomaceous Earth can be substituted with eggshells using a coffee grinder. It's supposed to be the same at pest control and can be used internally http://www.mamanatural.com/how-to-make-eggshell-calcium/.