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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Public Health Statement
Summary about a hazardous substance taken from Chapter One
of its respective ATSDR Toxicological Profile.
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ToxFAQ
Fact sheet that answers the most frequently asked questions
about a contaminant and its health effects.
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Toxicological Profile
Succinctly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health
effects information for a hazardous substance.
This page was updated on
09/18/2008