engleski

Thallium Toxicity in Humans

Thallium is naturally occurring trace element widely distributed in earth’ s crust but at very low concentration. It does not have a known biological use and does not appear to be an essential element for life. Due to its toxicity, thallium has been considered as one of the most toxic heavy metal. Occasionally, there are still some reports on thallium poisoning as results of suicidal and murder attempts as well as unintentional accident cases. The main threat to humans exists from occupational exposure, environmental contamination and accumulation through the food chain by consuming mainly vegetables grown on the contaminated soil. Increasing use in emerging new technologies and demanding high-tech industry constantly raise the concern about exposure risk to all living organisms. Thallium has the potential to cause the adverse health effects and degenerative changes to many target organs, although affected nervous system has shown the most severe physiological disturbances including hallucinations and delirium. Alopecia and peripheral neuropathy are its prominent features, but in the most severe cases convulsions and coma can lead to death.

heavy metal; environmental contamination; poisoning; alopecia; peripheral neuropathy

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