What is Zinc?
CAS#: 007440-66-6
Zinc is one of the most common elements in the earth's crust.
It is found in air, soil, and water, and is present in all foods.
Pure zinc is a bluish-white shiny metal.
Zinc has many commercial uses as coatings to prevent rust,
in dry cell batteries, and mixed with other metals to make alloys
like brass, and bronze. A zinc and copper alloy is used to make
pennies in the United States.
Zinc combines with other elements to form zinc compounds.
Common zinc compounds found at hazardous waste sites include
zinc chloride, zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, and zinc sulfide. Zinc
compounds are widely used in industry to make paint, rubber,
dyes, wood preservatives, and ointments.
Related Resources for Zinc
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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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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.
-
Toxicological Profile
Succinctly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health
effects information for a hazardous substance.
This page was updated on
09/22/2008
