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ToxFAQs™


ToxFAQs™
for
Tungsten

(Tungsteno)
August 2005

Tungsten ToxFAQs™ PDF PDF Version, 29 KB

CAS#: 7440-33-7

This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions about Tungsten. For more information, you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. 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.

Highlights

Tungsten is a naturally occurring element. Exposure to very low levels of tungsten may occur by breathing air, eating food, or drinking water that contains tungsten. No specific health effects have been associated with exposure to tungsten in humans. Exposure to high levels of tungsten is unlikely. Tungsten has been found in at least 6 of the 1,662 National Priority List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

What is tungsten?

Tungsten is a naturally occurring element. It occurs in rocks and minerals combined with other chemicals, but never as a pure metal. Elemental tungsten is a white to steel gray metal (depending on the purity) that can be used in pure form or mixed with other metals to make alloys. Tungsten alloys tend to be strong and flexible, resist wear, and conduct electricity well. Tungsten is used in products such as x-ray tubes, light bulbs, high-speed tools, welding electrodes, turbine blades, golf clubs, darts, fishing weights, gyroscope wheels, phonograph needles, bullets, and armor penetrators. Tungsten is also used as a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions.

Chemical compounds of tungsten are used for many purposes. Cemented tungsten carbide is a hard substance used to make grinding wheels and cutting or forming tools. Other tungsten compounds are used in ceramic pigments, as fire retardant coatings for fabrics, and as color-resistant dyes for fabrics.

What happens to tungsten when it enters the environment?

How might I be exposed to tungsten?

How can tungsten affect my health?

Tungsten compounds have caused breathing problems and changed behavior in some animals given large amounts of tungsten compounds. However, you are not likely to be exposed to amounts of tungsten in the air you breathe or the food or water you take into your body that would be large enough to cause similar effects.

How likely is tungsten to cause cancer?

There is not enough information to determine whether inhalation, oral, or dermal exposure to tungsten or tungsten compounds can cause cancer in humans. Tungsten has not been classified for carcinogenic effects by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), or the EPA. Tungsten has been recommended to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) for testing in laboratory animals, which includes a cancer assessment.

How can tungsten affect children?

Children may be affected in the same way as adults. We do not know whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to tungsten. Animal studies have shown that tungsten can pass from the maternal blood through the placenta and reach the fetus.

How can families reduce the risks of exposure to tungsten?

Is there a medical test to determine whether I've been exposed to tungsten?

Tests are available to measure tungsten in your blood, urine, hair, saliva, and feces. These tests are not usually done in the doctor's office because they require special equipment. Elevated levels of tungsten in the feces can mean high recent tungsten exposure. Elevated levels of tungsten in the urine and/or blood can mean high tungsten consumption and/or high exposure. The average urine concentration for the U.S. population was 0.083 µg/L in 2003. Tests to measure tungsten in hair may provide information on long-term tungsten exposure.

Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?

For tungsten and insoluble tungsten compounds in air, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends an exposure limit of 5 mg/m3 (average over a 10-hour period) and a short-term (15 minutes) exposure limit of 10 mg/m3. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set limits for tungsten of 5 mg/m3 (insoluble compounds) and 1 mg/m3 (soluble compounds) for construction and shipyard industries.

References

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2005. Toxicological Profile for Tungsten (Update). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

Where can I get more information?

ATSDR can tell you where to find occupational and environmental health clinics. Their specialists can recognize, evaluate, and treat illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances. You can also contact your community or state health or environmental quality department if you have any more questions or concerns.

For more information, contact:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 1- 800-232-4636 / TTY: 888-232-6348  
FAX: 770-488-4178
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

This page was updated on 09/11/2007