Thallium trace element

The results are shown in Tables I, II, and III. The major elements in coal and in the derived products are, in order of decreasing abundance in the materials studied, silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron, and magnesium. With the minor and trace elements, the detection limits vary with the ash content of each type of material about 1-5 ppm for the coals and residues and 1-3 ppb for the oils. The elements thallium, bismuth, germanium, and gallium were sought but not detected. 

Reliable analytical information can be obtained by using microwave digestion sampling for trace element determination in brain and liver. Krachler et al.52 reported two microwave digestion systems (open-focused and closed-pressurized). They created a mineralization of human brain and bovine liver as dissolution steps prior to the determination of 16 trace elements (bismuth, cadmium, cobalt, cesium, copper, iron, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, rubidium, antimony, tin, strontium, thallium, and zinc) by ICP-MS. 

Grahn, E., Karlsson, S., Karlsson, U. and Duker, A. (2006) Historical pollution of seldom monitored trace elements in Sweden-Part B Sediment analysis of silver, antimony, thallium and indium. J Environ Mon, 8 (7), 732-744. 

The elements beryllium, magnesium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, zinc, zirconium, molybdenum, silver, cadmium, tin, thallium, lead, and bismuth mainly occur in the crystal structures of rock-forming silicates and oxides of the common rocks in the Earths crust. These elements - with the exception of magnesium, iron, titanium, chromium, and zirconium - are trace elements in the minerals. They follow certain rules as reported by Goldschmidt (1954) in their ten-... 

Thallium is a rare element which occurs in the Earth s crust at an estimated abundance of 0.1 to 0.5 ligg (see Part I, Chapter 1). The specific ionic properties of thallium (e.g., ionic radius Tl 0.147 nm) are similar to those of potassium and rubidium (ionic radius K 0.133 nm, Rb" 0.147 nm) thus, thallium occurs ubiquitously as a trace element within the environment, mainly in association with K and Rb. Besides its occurrence in widespread potassium compounds, thallium is a trace component in iron, zinc, copper, and lead minerals (Nriagu 1998). 

In contrast to the occurrence of thallium as trace element, thallium minerals are very rare. Crookesite (from Skrikerum/ Sweden) is a mixture of the selenides of copper, thallium, and silver. Similar chemical compositions have been found in berze-lianite (Germany) and lorandite (Macedonia). Thallium has also been found in extraterrestrial material meteoric stones contain 0.001 to 0.2 tgg whilst lunar minerals contain 0.0006 to 0.0024 pgg (Urey 1952, Wedepohl 1974). 

Pietra R, and Balducci C (1994) Trace element reference values in tissues from inhabitants of the European Union. VIII. Thallium in the Italian population. Sci Total Environ 158 227-236. 

Ueberschar K-H, Matthes S and Vogt H (1986). Influence of addition of thallium to food of broiler and laying hens. In Anke M, Baumann W, Braunlich H, Bruckner C and Groppel B, eds. Proceedings of the 5th symposium of trace elements, Jena, 14-17 July 1986, pp. 1233-1240, Universitat Jena, Jena. 

Gedmann, W, K. Bayermann, K.H. Neeb, and R. Neeb ThaUium, ein Regehnassig Vorhandenes Spurenelement in Tierischen und Pfianzhchen Organismus [Thallium, an ordinary trace element present in animal and plant organisms] Biochem. Z. 333 (1960) 62-70. 

The chapters in Part II are also written by scientists with a broad practical experience. They contain detailed information for the analysis in biological specimens of the thirteen trace elements that are most important for toxicological, epidemiological and environmental studies Aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, vanadium, and zinc. 

When heating the samples, the volatility of Tl-compounds has to be taken into consideration. Either oxygen or hydrogen, respectively hydrogen diluted with nitrogen, can be used as carrier gas. The volatility in oxide, chloride or elemental forms leads to evaporation of Tl and some other trace elements selectively from the solid sample, which has to be considered also in technical processing of thallium-containing ores and other materials. 

Ml. Machata, C., and Binder, R., Determination of lead, thallium, zinc, and cadmium trace elements in biological material by flameless atomic absorption. Z. Rechtsmed. 73, 29-34 (1973). 

This method is closely related to precipitation, but makes use of the fact that when / ertain substances are precipitated other substances are coprecipitated. In radiochemistry in particular, coprecipitation with isotopic or non-isotopic carriers is still commonly practised today. In classical water analysis coprecipitation is often used to concentrate trace elements. In this way, for example, arsenic can be more or less completely coprecipitated and isolated with iron (III) hydroxide. With manganese in a manganese (III) or manganese (IV) compound, thallium can be coprecipitated and concentrated. Sections 3.2 to 3.5 and Section 3.7 deal with cases where precipitation and coprecipitation are still in general use in water... 

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry is an accurate and sensitive technique for determining toxic trace elements in food matrices. Lead, cadmium, and thallium have been analyzed rapidly down to very low levels by ICP-MS. The latter technique is particularly useful for simultaneous measurement of a wide range of elements. Because the toxicity of an element can be highly dependent on its chemical form, ICP-MS is also useful in the speciation of toxic minerals in foodstuffs by combination with HPLC or SEC. 

A number of other inorganic compounds of trace elements, such as barium silicofluoride CBaSiFg), sodium selenate (NaSeOi ) and thallium sulfate CTlaSOi ) have occasionally been used as insecticides, but their use is so limited, it cannot make any significant contribution to dispersion of trace elements in the soil. 

Some elements found in body tissues have no apparent physiological role, but have not been shown to be toxic. Examples are mbidium, strontium, titanium, niobium, germanium, and lanthanum. Other elements are toxic when found in greater than trace amounts, and sometimes in trace amounts. These latter elements include arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium, silver, zirconium, beryUium, and thallium. Numerous other elements are used in medicine in nonnutrient roles. These include lithium, bismuth, antimony, bromine, platinum, and gold (Eig. 1). The interactions of mineral nutrients with... 

Berndt et al. [740] have shown that traces of bismuth, cadmium, copper, cobalt, indium, nickel, lead, thallium, and zinc could be separated from samples of seawater, mineral water, and drinking water by complexation with the ammonium salt of pyrrolidine- 1-dithiocarboxylic acid, followed by filtration through a filter covered with a layer of active carbon. Sample volumes could range from 100 ml to 10 litres. The elements were dissolved in nitric acid and then determined by atomic absorption or inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. 

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