Selenium

What is Selenium?

CAS#: 007782-49-2

Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral element that is distributed widely in nature in most rocks and soils. In its pure form, it exists as metallic gray to black hexagonal crystals, but in nature it is usually combined with sulfide or with silver, copper, lead, and nickel minerals. Most processed selenium is used in the electronics industry, but it is also used: as a nutritional supplement; in the glass industry; as a component of pigments in plastics, paints, enamels, inks, and rubber; in the preparation of pharmaceuticals; as a nutritional feed additive for poultry and livestock; in pesticide formulations; in rubber production; as an ingredient in antidandruff shampoos; and as a constituent of fungicides. Radioactive selenium is used in diagnostic medicine.

Related Resources for Selenium

• CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substance
  Prioritization of substances based on a combination of their frequency, toxicity, and potential for human exposure at National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
  
• 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.
  
• 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.