Toxic minerals

Acute lethality studies in animals exposed by inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact to several mineral oil hydraulic fluids indicate that mineral oil fluids are not potent toxicants. Mineral oil hydraulic fluids produced no deaths in rats after 4-hour exposures to aerosol concentrations of 110-210 mg/m3 or gavage administration of single doses <5,000 mg/kg (Kinkead et al. 1987a, 1988). Rabbits, likewise, did not die after single 24-hour exposures to occluded dermal doses of several mineral oil hydraulic fluids <2,000 mg/kg (Kinkead et al. 1985, 1987a, 1988). 

Vermilion and cinnabar are two bright red, toxic minerals that share an identical composition (they are both composed of mercury sulfide) but have different crystal structures. Two kinds of vermilion are known one of natural origin and another made artificially. Finely ground natural vermilion may vary in hue from red to liver-brown and even to black. Artificial vermilion was made from mercury and sulfur the method of preparation seems to have been developed by the Chinese and was introduced into Europe only during the eighth century c.e. (Gettens et al. 1972). 

D.L. Grunes Service, Ithaca, NY interaction of essential and toxic mineral... 

Biologists have now observed hundreds of cases of natural selection, beginning with the well-known examples of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, insect resistance to DDT and HIV resistance to antiviral dmgs. Natural selection accounts for the resistance of fish and mice to predators by making them more camouflaged, and for the adaptation of plants to toxic minerals in the soil.32... 

A list of some of the toxic species most often found in mineral collections is shown in Table 2.15. This is not a list of all potentially hazardous species, but it includes most of the common toxic minerals. 

Nowhere was this more evident than in therapeutics. The deleterious effects of persistent bleeding and massive dosing with toxic minerals such as mercury (most commonly in the form of calomel) and antimony (usually prescribed as tartar emetic) became matters around which all sectarians could agree. The Eclectic Medical Journal, official mouthpiece of the EMI, voiced the protests of many when it declared,... 

In the diet and at the tissue level, ascorbic acid can interact with mineral nutrients. In the intestine, ascorbic acid enhances the absorption of dietary iron and selenium reduces the absorption of copper, nickel, and manganese but apparently has little effect on zinc or cobalt. Ascorbic acid fails to affect the intestinal absorption of two toxic minerals studied, cadmium and mercury. At the tissue level, iron overload enhances the oxidative catabolism of ascorbic acid. Thus, the level of dietary vitamin C can have important nutritional consequences through a wide range of inhibitory and enhancing interactions with mineral nutrients. 

Interaction of Ascorbic Acid with Toxic Minerals... 

Data concerning the toxicity of the four discussed toxic minerals are presented in Tables 4.5 and 4.6. The uptake of elements is not entirely independent of one another. Elements of similar chemical properties tend to be taken up together. Sometimes one element has an inhibiting effect on another, or there can be a synergistic effect, e.g., enhancement of absorption of calcium in the presence of adequate amounts of phosphorus, or cadmium and lead hindering calcium and iron absorption, or zinc and copper antagonism and their influence on the ratio of Zn/Cu on copper deficiency. 

Toxicity. Mineral oils produce slight-to-moderate irritation by standard rabbit skin irritation tests (Beck et al., 1982 Mayhew et al., 1985). Repeated applications of mineral oils to skin over a week resulted in epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, and depilation C14-C19 hydrocarbons caused more damage than C21-C23 hydrocarbons (Hoekstra and Phillips, 1963). 

Garrett B, Cheeke P, Miranda C, Goeger D, Buhler D. Consumption of poisonous plants (Senecio jacobaea, Symphytum officinale, Pteridium aquilinum, Hypericum perforatum) by rats chronic toxicity, mineral metabolism, and hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes. Toxicol Lett 1982 10 183-188. 

An aqueous suspension of TiO can be used as a photocatalyst inducing complete mineralization of toxic halogenated hydrocarbons in waste water effluents under illumination with sun light or a UV lamp, yielding CO and non-toxic mineral acids as the only products. The authors [44] studied the destruction of chloroform in detail. 

Some people use vermiculite, a natural non-toxic mineral that helps permit slow cooling of hot pieces in glassblowing, lampwork and glass bead making. 

Reduction of the dye is inhibited by divalent cations in tbe Rhizobium system. Common ions, calcium and magnesium, inbibit tbe reduction of tbe dye. Tbe toxicity of the ions is shown in Table 15.2.2.5. Mercmy and cadmium, generally thought to be the most toxic minerals were the most toxic with this assay. Calcium and magnesium are also toxic. Water and soil samples typically contain calcium and magnesium so in order to analyze water and soil samples for toxic organic chemicals, a method to eliminate this inhibition by metal ions was sought. 

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. 

In addition to toxic mineral elements, some anions exhibit toxic effects on the human organism even if ingested in low concentrations. Legislation only specifies the maximum levels for nitrates and nitrites. Other anions, however, may also have toxic effects, such as... 

Among the most observed chemical contaminants are toxic minerals (metals, metalloids and other inorganic compounds), radioactive isotopes, mycotoxins and other microbial toxins, halo-genated organic compounds, phytotoxins as representatives of natural contaminants and others. For the selection of contaminants to be covered in this chapter, a number of criteria were taken into account, the most important of which include ... 

Clearly, some scientific findings demonstrate that if dietary intakes of certain minerals (chromium, copper, iron, manganese, and selenium) are extremely low, if the diet includes toxic minerals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury), hair analysis can detect these changes. Furthermore, some disorders such as anemia, hepatitis, hyperthyrosis and nephrocalcinosis are reported to change the mineral levels in the hair. 

Also see MINERALjS], section headed "Contamination of Drinking Water, Food, or Air with Toxic Minerals" and POISONS, Table P-2, Some Potentially Poisonous [Toxic] Substances.)... 

Causes of Mineral Deficiencies and/or Toxicities Agricultural Practices Which May Be Harmful Contamination of Drinking Water, Foods, or Air with Toxic Minerals Dietary and Medical Treatments Drugs Which May Affect the Utilization of Minerals by the Body Food Additives Food Processing... 

If not handled responsibly, geofluids are a potential source of water and soil contamination due to presence of toxic minerals, such as arsenic, barium, antimony, and elevated dissolved solid elements, such as sodium chloride, bicarbonate, sulphate, silica, calcium and potassium (e.g., Clark et al., 2011). Arsenic is highly toxic for the environment and human health thus it could be seriously dangerous in case of geofluids release (e.g., due to pipeline leakage), into the environment. 

Examples of such technology include the ability to develop grazing grass and crops with an aerated root system that will resist drought, floods, and also potentially neutralize toxic mineral compotuids by oxidizing them. 

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