Thallium (cont.)
How can thallium affect my health?
Exposure to high levels of thallium can result in harmful health effects. A
study on workers exposed on the job over several years reported nervous system
effects, such as numbness of fingers and toes, from breathing thallium.
Studies in people who ingested large amounts of thallium over a short time
have reported vomiting, diarrhea, temporary hair loss, and effects on the
nervous system, lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys. It has caused death. It is not
known what the effects are from ingesting low levels of thallium over a long
time.
Birth defects were not reported in the children of mothers exposed to low
levels from eating vegetables and fruits contaminated with thallium. Studies in
rats, however, exposed to high levels of thallium, showed adverse developmental
effects.
It is not known if breathing or ingesting thallium affects human
reproduction. Studies showed that rats that ingested thallium for several weeks
had some adverse reproductive effects. Animal data suggest that the male
reproductive system may be susceptible to damage by low levels of thallium.
There is no information available on the health effects of skin contact with
thallium in people or animals.
How likely is thallium to cause cancer?
The Department of Health and Human Services, the International Agency for
Research on Cancer, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have not
classified thallium as to its human carcinogenicity.
No studies are available in people or animals on the carcinogenic effects of
breathing, ingesting, or touching thallium.
Next: Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to thallium? »
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