Cesium

What is Cesium?

CAS#: 007440-46-2

Cesium is a naturally occurring element found combined with other elements in rocks, soil, and dust in low amounts. Naturally occurring cesium is not radioactive and is referred to as stable cesium. There is only one stable form of cesium naturally present in the environment, ¹³³Cs (read as cesium one-thirty-three).

Nuclear explosions or the breakdown of uranium in fuel elements can produce two radioactive forms of cesium, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs. Both isotopes decay into non-radioactive elements. ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs generate beta particles as they decay. It takes about 2 years for half of ¹³⁴Cs to give off its radiation and about 30 years for ¹³⁷Cs; this is called the halflife.

Related Resources for Cesium

• 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
  Provides an ongoing assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring.
  
• Results by Chemical Group
• 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.