I'm a more frequent lurker than poster in here, but I felt the need to respond because answering questions about chemicals is part of my day job :).

Assuming you're not pouring lemon juice on your countertops, leaving it for hours and licking it off, I wouldn't worry one bit about having copper counters. (And even then, I don't know how much copper you'd actually be consuming. Now, if you did that every day it might become a problem, but if you're licking your counters everyday, chances are you have bigger problems than the copper consumption... :P)

Copper is an essential nutrient, we all need to consume a little bit of it every day (not more than 900 micrograms of copper per day according to the USDA). The more likely route for exposure to copper is in driking water in homes that have copper pipes and acidic water, and even that is only unadvisable beyond a certain limit (1.3 mg of copper per one liter of drinking water). Other than that, the people who consume the most copper are miners and others who work with it regularly.

IMO, it's more likely that the salesman your friend spoke to is a) uninformed, b) doesn't sell copper or doesn't have a large markup on it.

I love copper counters and have looked into them recently, but they have become very expensive since the price of copper has skyrocketed - from $0.50/lb in 2001 to $3.50 this year. Prices are expected to rise to $4.00 next year and the quotes I've had for a copper countertop/sink have unfortunately reflected that jump.

Hope that helps, here's a link you might want to check also:

Here is a link that might be useful: ATSDR Copper page

Gwendolynne:

YOU ROCK!!!

Thank you, this is sort of what I suspected, but I was spooked till you responded.

I plan on DIYing this part of the kitchen: applying a thin layer of copper sheet over a heat tolerant backing like CBU. My only real issue is finding a supplier for copper sheet that's about 28 inches wide so that it can be wrapped around the front edge of the top without any seams. Several sellers have it on ebay at a reasonable price, but not in this width. I still have to talk to my local tin shop.

At the end of the day, I think I can DIY this surface for considerably less than I can have anything else made for me...

Maybe the link below will help you in your quest? We were *this* close to going with a copper sink and backsplash but have since changed out minds. Hey, you never know, they might still change back again...

Here is a link that might be useful: copper sheet metal

Like gwendolynne said, it shouldn't be an issue. Copper is much less reactive than aluminum or iron, and you probably use both of those metals in you kitchen.

By the way, I was out at a beer and pizza joint last weekend, and they had well worn and splotched copper counters! Of course my first thought was "I'll have to bring my camera next time so I can take pictures for my fellow TKOers..."

I have copper counters all along my perimeter. I LOVE them. They are NOT toxic! I clean with soapy water. I have spilled lemon juice (I even clean with lemon juice as it removes the patina if you wish) and tomato sauce on them and they are fine. I like the patina so only clean them with lemon juice and baking soda near the dish washer area where that area has a tendancy to get A LOT darker that the remaining counters.

The only warning I will offer is that Amonia will eat through copper if it sits for a period of time. Therefore I avoid dishwashing liquids with amonia.

No worries about copper countertops. I think the person who tried to scare you away from copper is the type of person who believes those kinoki foot pads really work :) If you don't want the patina of copper you can always give your countertops an occasional cleaning with Cameo powder. That stuff really works wonders on metal surfaces. Kinda hard to find at the store sometime, but it is available.

Oruboris - Following is a link to a company that sells kraft grade copper by the roll & some that's thicker; I don't remember if they have any that's wide enough (or thick enough) for your needs. I bought some of their recyled copper for a back splash & these people were excellent to deal with.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roll copper

here are a couple of great links for copper and copper patinas. these folks have some beautiful stuff.

http://www.handcraftedmetal.com/index.html

http://www.marbleizedcopper.com