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    Question ID:   7421         Current Version: 1
Question: How might I be exposed to thallium?
Category: Health & Beauty > Other
Keywords: human, source, expose, thallium
Type: how
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 296    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:
You can be exposed to thallium in air, water, and food. However, the levels of thallium in air and water are very low. The greatest exposure occurs when you eat food, mostly home­grown fruits and green vegetables contaminated by thallium. Small amounts of thallium are released into the air from coal­burning power plants, cement factories, and smelting operations. This thallium falls out of the air onto nearby fruit and vegetable gardens. Thallium enters food because it is easily taken up by plants through the roots. Very little is known on how much thallium is in specific foods grown or eaten. Cigarette smoking is also a source of thallium. People who smoke have twice as much thallium in their bodies as do nonsmokers. Although fish take up thallium from water, we do not know whether eating fish can increase thallium levels in your body. It has been estimated that the average person eats, on a daily basis, 2 parts thallium per billion parts (ppb) of food. Even though rat poison containing thallium was banned in 1972, accidental poisonings from old rat poison still occur, especially in children.

Thallium is produced or used in power plants, cement factories, and smelters. People who work in these places can breathe in the chemical or it may come in contact with their skin. Information on the amount of thallium in workplace air in the United States could not be found. Hazardous waste sites are also possible sources of exposure to thallium. An average of 23 ppb of thallium in surface water and 11 ppb in groundwater have been found at hazardous waste sites. Since thallium compounds mix easily in water, you can be exposed if you live near a chemical waste site where thallium emissions have contaminated the water. An average of 1.7 parts of thallium per million parts (ppm) of soil was found at hazardous waste sites. Since thallium sticks to soil, you can be exposed at hazardous waste sites if you swallow or touch contaminated soil. Thallium­contaminated dust in the air can also be swallowed after it is cleared from the lungs. Thallium is naturally found in soil at levels from 0.3 to 0.7 ppm.

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