How does thallium affect the human body?
Thallium can affect your nervous system, lung, heart, liver, and kidney if large amounts are eaten or drunk for short periods of time. Temporary hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea can also occur and death may result after exposure to large amounts of thallium for short periods.
Why was thallium sulfate banned?
It was introduced in the United States as a rodenticide in the 1920s. The use of thallium as a pesticide was restricted in the United States to commercial exterminators in 19658,9 and was completely banned in 1975 because of continued accidental exposures.
What is thallium sulfate used for?
It is a rodenticide used to control rats, squirrels, mice, moles, prairie dogs, ants and cockroaches. It is no longer registered for pesticide use in the United States. It has a role as a rodenticide and an insecticide. It is a thallium molecular entity and a metal sulfate.
How much thallium is toxic to humans?
Internationally thallium toxicity is common in developing countries; however, little data is available. Six percent to 15% has been reported for acute thallium toxicity. Ten to 15 mg/kg is a lethal dose for humans.
How does thallium leave the body?
Most of the thallium leaves your body in urine and to a lesser extent in feces. It can be found in urine within 1 hour after exposure. After 24 hours, increasing amounts are found in feces. It can be found in urine as long as 2 months after exposure.
What foods are high in thallium?
It will be observed from Fig. 1 that the four vegetables with the highest maximum or mean thallium levels, watercress, radish, turnip and green cabbage are all Brassicaceous.
Is thallium 201 toxic?
The radioisotope thallium-201 (as the soluble chloride TlCl) is used in small amounts as an agent in a nuclear medicine scan, during one type of nuclear cardiac stress test. Soluble thallium salts (many of which are nearly tasteless) are highly toxic, and they were historically used in rat poisons and insecticides.
What are the symptoms of thallium?
Thallium Poisoning Symptoms & Signs
- abdominal pain,
- nausea and vomiting,
- blood in the stool,
- painful sensory neuropathy (especially on the soles and palms),
- loss of reflexes,
- headaches,
- numbness,
- ataxia,
When was thallium banned?
Thallium was also widely used as a rodenticide. Its use as a household rodenticide was banned in the United States in 1965 after multiple unintentional poisonings.
How does thallium poisoning happen?
Thallium poisoning usually follows oral ingestion but it can be inhaled from contaminated dust from pyrite burners, cadmium manufacturing, and lead and zinc smelting, and in contamination of heroin or cocaine. Its toxic effect is due to its ability to inhibit a number of intracellular potassium-mediated processes.
How long does thallium stay in blood?
The biological half-life of thallium has a wide range of 1 to 30 days and depends on the entry route into the body, initial constipation, and enterohepatic circulation [4].
How do you detox from thallium?
In cases of severe poisoning and gastrointestinal ingestion, the efficacy of hemodialysis either alone or in combination with multi-dose activated charcoal and Prussian blue to remove thallium may be considered. Additionally, renal excretion of thallium can be obtained with potassium chloride treatment.
What is thallium sulfate?
Thallium sulfate is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless compound that can be absorbed through the unbroken skin. It is rapidly absorbed via the gastrointestinal tract and by inhalation. In sublethal doses, thallium can cause nausea, vomiting, and in the first few days after ingestion constipation.
What are the side effects of thallium?
In sublethal doses, thallium can cause nausea, vomiting, and in the first few days after ingestion constipation. Thereafter neuropathic pain is experienced especially in the lower extremities, accompanied with abdominal pain.
What are the possible gastrointestinal effects of thallous sulfate toxicity?
Gastrointestinal effects include increased salivation, inflammation of the oral cavity, anorexia, vomiting (may be bloody), diarrhea (may be bloody), abdominal pain, and constipation. Kidney damage has been reported. Emergency Life-Support Procedures: Acute exposure to thallous sulfate may require decontamination and life support for the victims.
What is the lethal dose of thallium sulfate?
The mean lethal dose of thallium(I) sulfate for an adult is about 1 gram. Since thallium(I) sulfate is a simple powder with indistinctive properties, it can easily be mistaken for more innocuous chemicals. It can enter the body by ingestion, inhalation, or through contact with the skin.