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  4. Cobalt

Cobalt

Toxic Substance

    What is Cobalt?

    CAS#: 007440-48-4

    Cobalt is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil, water, plants, and animals. Cobalt is used to produce alloys used in the manufacture of aircraft engines, magnets, grinding and cutting tools, artificial hip and knee joints. Cobalt compounds are also used to color glass, ceramics and paints, and used as a drier for porcelain enamel and paints.

    Radioactive cobalt is used for commercial and medical purposes. 60Co (read as cobalt sixty) is used for sterilizing medical equipment and consumer products, radiation therapy for treating cancer patients, manufacturing plastics, and irradiating food. 57Co is used in medical and scientific research. It takes about 5.27 years for half of 60Co to give off its radiation and about 272 days for 57Co; this is called the half-life.

    Related Resources for Cobalt

    • CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances
      Prioritization of substances based on a combination of their frequency, toxicity, and potential for human exposure at National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
    • Interaction Profile
      Succintly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects information for mixtures of hazardous substances.
    • Minimal Risk Levels (MRL)
      The MRL is an estimate of the daily human exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse, non-cancer health effects over a specified duration of exposure. The information in this MRL serves as a screening tool to help public health professionals decide where to look more closely to evaluate possible risk of adverse health effects from human exposure.
    • National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
      Report provides an ongoing assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring.
    • Public Health Statement
      Summary about a hazardous substance taken from Chapter One of its respective ATSDR Toxicological Profile.
    • ToxFAQ
      Fact sheet that answers the most frequently asked questions about a contaminant and its health effects.
    • Toxicological Profile
      Succinctly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects information for a hazardous substance.
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    This page was updated on 09/18/2008