Irritant hard metal

Colbalt Hydrogenations of solid fuels and fuel oils Manufacture of terephthalic acid High pressure production of aldehydes Lung irritation (hard metal disease) respiratory sensitization... 

Inhalation. Respiratory irritation. Hard metal pneumoconiosis. 

Toxicology. Cobalt causes skin irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, and occupational asthma interstitial pulmonary fibrosis is associated with exposure to hard metal dust (tungsten and cobalt). 

No allergic reactions to tungstate were observed in patch testing of 853 individuals who were working or had worked with tungsten carbide in hard metal manufacture. Irritant pustular reactions appeared in 2% of the patch tests. ... 

Properties Silvery mod. hard metal sol. in acids insol. in water a.w. 24.31 dens. 1.74 vapor pressure 1 mm (621 C) m.p. 650 C b.p. 1107 C lightest of the structural metals Toxicology Toxic irritant inh. of dust and fumes can cause metal fume fever powd. metal ignites readily on skin causing burns TSCA listed... 

The toxicity of cobalt and cobalt-nickel alloys in experimental hard metal pneumoconiosis is well documented. Metallic cobalt powder instilled in-tratracheally in the lungs of rats had an acute irritant action and lead to severe alterations in capillaries (Harding 1950, Schiller 1958,1961). The solubility of cobalt in plasma is some 500 times greater than in saline, but a fairly large (10 ml) intraperito-neal dose of plasma saturated with cobalt was without evident effects on the rat (Harding 1950). 

Properties Semi-gray hard brittle metal sol. in acids (except nitric) and strong alkalis insol. in water a.w. 51.996 dens. 7.1 m.p. 1900 C b.p. 2200 C corrosion resist, to air and water attacked by nonoxidizing acids and alkalis Toxicology TLV (dust and fume) 0.5 mg/m of air metal dust is an irritant hexavalent chromium compds. are suspect human carcinogens human poison by ing. may cause Gl disturbances, kidney damage, and circulatory shock TSCA listed Precaution Powd. will explode spontaneously in air ignites and is potentially explosive in CO2 atm. other violent reactions possible incompat. with oxidants... 

Inorganic arsenic compounds cause irritation of the skin and may produce skin cancer. It is used in alloys to increase hardness of metals, especially with copper and lead. 

This is a hard blue-white metal used in electroplating and in a range of alloys. Nickel salts may cause skin sensitivity (nickel itch) while nickel carbonyl (a gas) may irritate the lungs (broncho-pneumonia) and has been associated with cancer of the lung. 

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