1.1 What is antimony? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to antimony? |
1.3 How can antimony enter and leave my
body? |
1.4 How can antimony affect my health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to antimony? |
1.6 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.7 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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December 1992 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Antimony |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for antimony. It is one in a series of Public
Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health
effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,
is also available. This information is important because this
substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous
substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed,
personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are
present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information
Center at 1-888-422-8737.
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This Statement was prepared to give you information about
antimony and to emphasize the human health effects that may
result from exposure to it. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has identified 1,177 sites on its National Priorities
List (NPL). Antimony and its compounds have been found at
52 of these sites. However, we do not know how many of the
1,177 NPL sites have been evaluated for antimony. As EPA evaluates
more sites, the number of sites at which antimony and its
compounds are found may change. The information is important
for you because antimony may cause harmful health effects
and because these sites are potential or actual sources of
human exposure to antimony.
When a chemical is released from a large area, such as an
industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle,
it enters the environment as a chemical emission. This emission,
which is also called a release, does not always lead to exposure.
You can be exposed to a chemical only when you come into contact
with the chemical. You may be exposed to it in the environment
by breathing, eating, or drinking substances containing the
chemical or from skin contact with it.
If you are exposed to a hazardous substance such as antimony,
several factors will determine whether harmful health effects
will occur and what the type and severity of those health
effects will be. These factors include the dose (how much),
the duration (how long), the route or pathway by which you
are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or skin contact),
the other chemicals to which you are exposed, and your individual
characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional status, family
traits, life style, and state of health.
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1.1
What is antimony? |
Antimony is a silvery white metal of medium hardness that
breaks easily. Small amounts of antimony are found in the
earth's crust. Antimony ores are mined and then either changed
into antimony metal or combined with oxygen to form antimony
oxide.
Antimony oxide is a white powder that does not evaporate.
Only a small amount of it will dissolve in water. Most antimony
oxide produced is added to textiles and plastics to prevent
their catching on fire.
Antimony metal is too easily broken to be used much by itself.
To make it stronger, a little antimony is usually mixed with
other metals such as lead and zinc to form mixtures of metals
called alloys. These alloys are used in lead storage batteries,
solder, sheet and pipe metal, bearings, castings, type metal,
ammunition, and pewter.
Antimony enters the environment during the mining and processing
of its ores and in the production of antimony metal, alloys,
antimony oxide, and combinations of antimony with other substances.
Little or no antimony is mined in the United States. Antimony
ore and impure metals are brought into this country from other
countries for processing. Small amounts of antimony are also
released into the environment by incinerators and coal-burning
power plants. The antimony that comes out of the smoke stacks
of these plants is attached to very small particles that settle
to the ground or are washed out of the air by rain. It usually
takes many days for antimony to be removed from the air. Antimony
attached to very small particles may stay in the air for more
than a month. Antimony cannot be destroyed in the environment.
It can only change its form or become attached to or separated
from particles. Most antimony will end up in the soil or sediment,
where it attaches strongly to particles that contain iron,
manganese, or aluminum.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to antimony? |
Antimony is found at very low levels in the environment,
so low that we often cannot measure it. You may be exposed
to antimony by breathing air, drinking water, and eating foods
that contain it. You also may be exposed by skin contact with
soil, water, and other substances that contain antimony. The
analytical methods used by scientists testing for the presence
of antimony in the environment do not determine the specific
form of antimony present. Therefore, we do not always know
what form of antimony persons may be exposed to. Similarly,
we do not know what forms of antimony are found in hazardous
waste sites. Much of the antimony found in sediment, soil,
and rock is so strongly attached to dust and dirt or buried
in minerals that it cannot easily affect your health. Some
antimony in the environment is less tightly attached to particles
and may be taken up by plants and animals.
The concentration of antimony in air ranges from a very small
part of a nanogram (1 nanogram equals a billionth of a gram)
in a cubic meter (m³) of air (ng/m³) to about 170
ng/m³. However, near companies that change antimony ores
into metal or make antimony oxide, concentrations may be more
than 1,000 ng/m³. You may breathe high levels of antimony
in dust if you live or work near antimony mines or processing
companies.
The concentration of antimony that is dissolved in rivers
and lakes is very low, usually less than 5 parts of antimony
in 1 billion parts of water (ppb). We cannot measure such
small amounts without special equipment. Antimony does not
appear to accumulate in fish and other aquatic animals. The
concentration of antimony dissolved in one polluted river
where wastes from antimony mining and processing had been
dumped was as high as 8 ppb. Most of the antimony in the river,
however, was not dissolved, but was attached to particles
of dirt. Although antimony is used in solder for water pipes,
it does not seem to get into the drinking water.
Soil usually contains very low concentrations of antimony,
less than 1 part of antimony in a million parts of soil (ppm).
However, concentrations close to 9 ppm have been found. The
highest soil concentrations found at hazardous waste sites
on the NPL and at antimony-processing sites range from 109
to 2,550 ppm. High concentrations of antimony may be found
in soil because dust sent out during processing settles out
from the air. Also, waste from antimony-processing and other
antimony-using industries is usually dumped onto the soil.
We do not know the form of antimony at these sites. However,
we know that much of the antimony in antimony-processing wastes
is strongly attached to soil. You may be exposed to this antimony
by skin contact. Children may also be exposed to this antimony
by eating the dirt.
Food usually contains small amounts of antimony. You eat
and drink about 5 micrograms (5 millionths of a gram) of antimony
every day. The average concentration of antimony in meats,
vegetables, and seafood is 0.2–1.1 ppb. The antimony oxide
that is added to many materials for fire protection is very
tightly attached to these materials and does not expose people
to antimony.
You may also be exposed to antimony in the workplace. If
you work in industries that process antimony ore and metal
or make chemicals that contain antimony, such as antimony
oxide, you may be exposed to antimony by breathing dust or
by skin contact.
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1.3
How can antimony enter and leave my body? |
Antimony can enter your body when you drink water or eat
food, soil, or other substances that contain antimony. Antimony
can also enter your body if you breathe air or dust containing
antimony. We do not know if antimony can enter your body when
it is placed on your skin.
A small amount of the antimony you eat or drink enters the
blood after a few hours. The amount and the form of antimony
in the food or water will affect how much antimony enters
your blood. After you eat or drink very large doses of antimony,
you may vomit. This will prevent most of the antimony from
entering through the stomach and intestines into your blood.
Antimony in your lungs will enter your blood after several
days or weeks. The amount of antimony that will enter your
blood from your lungs is not known.
After antimony enters your blood, it goes to many parts of
your body. Most of the antimony goes to the liver, lungs,
intestines, and spleen. Antimony will leave your body in feces
and urine over several weeks.
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1.4
How can antimony affect my health? |
Exposure to 9 milligrams per cubic meter of air (mg/m³)
of antimony for a long time can irritate your eyes, skin,
and lungs. Breathing 2 mg/m³
of antimony for a long time can cause problems with the lungs
(pneumoconiosis), heart problems (altered electrocardiograms),
stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach ulcers. People
who drank over 19 ppm of antimony once, vomited. We do not
know what other health effects would occur to people who swallow
antimony. We do not know if antimony can cause cancer or birth
defects, or affect reproduction in humans. Antimony can have
beneficial effects when used for medical reasons. It has been
used as a medicine to treat people infected with parasites.
Persons who have had too much of this medicine or are sensitive
to it when it was injected into their blood or muscle have
experienced adverse health effects. These health effects include
diarrhea, joint and/or muscle pain, vomiting, problems with
the blood (anemia) and heart problems (altered electrocardiograms).
Rats and guinea pigs that breathed very high levels of antimony
for a short time died. Rats breathing high levels of antimony
for several days had lung, heart, liver, and kidney damage.
Breathing very low levels of antimony for a long time has
resulted in eye irritation, hair loss, and lung damage in
rats. Dogs and rats that breathed low levels of antimony for
a long period had heart problems (changes in EKGs). Problems
with fertility have been observed in rats that breathed very
high levels of antimony for a couple of months. Lung cancer
has been observed in some studies of rats breathing high concentrations
of antimony. Antimony has not been classified for cancer effects
by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), or the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Dogs that drank very high levels of antimony for several
weeks lost weight and had diarrhea. Rats that drank very low
levels of antimony for most of their lives died sooner than
rats not drinking antimony. Rats eating high levels of antimony
for a long time had liver damage and fewer red blood cells.
Rabbits that had very small amounts of antimony placed on
their skin for less than 1 day had skin irritation. Small
amounts of antimony placed in rabbit eyes resulted in eye
irritation. Large amounts of antimony placed on rabbit's skin
resulted in death.
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1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to antimony? |
There are reliable and accurate ways
of measuring antimony levels in the body. Antimony can be
measured in the urine, feces, and blood for several days after
exposure. High levels of antimony in these fluids will show
that you have been exposed to high levels of antimony. However,
we do not know if such measurements can tell how much antimony
you have been exposed to for how long, or what, if any, short-term
or long-term health effects you will have.
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1.6
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
EPA has set a limit of 145 ppb in lakes and streams to protect
human health from the harmful effects of antimony taken in
through water and contaminated fish and shellfish. EPA has
also set limits on the amount of antimony that industry can
release.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has set a limit of 0.5 mg/m³ of antimony in workroom
air to protect workers during an 8-hour work shift (40-hour
workweek). The National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) also recommends that the concentration in workroom
air be limited to 0.5 mg/m³ for antimony, averaged over
an 8-hour work shift.
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1.7
Where can I get more information? |
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact
your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737
FAX: (770)-488-4178
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health
clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses
resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000
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References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1992. Toxicological
profile for antimony. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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