Thallium monochloride

Generators of waste (equal to or greater than 100 kg/mo) containing this contaminant, EPA hazardous waste number U216, must conform with USEPA regulations in storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.

Thallium chloride is a poor candidate for incineration.

Dilute thallium soln may be disposed of in chemical waste landfills. When possible, thallium should be recovered and returned to the suppliers. Recommendable methods: Precipitation, solidification, & landfill.

Chemical Treatability of Thallium Concentration Process: Activated carbon; Chemical Classification: Metals; Scale of Study: Literature Review; Type of Wastewater Used: Unkown; Results of Study: GAC treatment after time precipitate yielded 84% reduction; /Soluble thallium cmpd/

For more Disposal Methods (Complete) data for THALLOUS CHLORIDE (6 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

If employees' clothing may have become contaminated with soluble thallium compounds, employees should change into uncontaminated clothing before leaving the work premises. Clothing contaminated with soluble thallium compounds should be placed in closed containers for storage until it can be discarded or until provision is made for the removal of soluble compounds from the clothing. If the clothing is to be laundered or otherwise cleaned to remove the soluble thallium compounds, the person perfoming the operation should be informed of soluble thallium compounds's hazardous properties. Non-impervious clothing which becomes contaminated with soluble thallium compounds should be removed promptly and not reworn until the soluble thallium compound is removed from the clothing. /Soluble thallium compounds/

Skin that becomes contaminated with soluble thallium compounds should be promptly washed or showered to remove any soluble thallium compounds. Eating and smoking should not be permitted in areas where soluble thallium compound is handled, processed, or stored. Employees who handle soluble thallium compounds should wash their hands thoroughly before eating, smoking, or using toilet facilities. /Soluble thallium compounds/

0.02 [mg/m3], inhalable fraction, as Tl

8 hr Time Weighted Avg (TWA): 0.1 mg/cu m, skin. /Thallium and soluble cmpds, as Tl/

Excursion Limit Recommendation: Excursions in worker exposure levels may exceed 3 times the TLV-TWA for no more than a total of 30 minutes during a work day, and under no circumstances should they exceed 5 times the TLV-TWA, provided that the TLV-TWA is not exceeded. /Thallium and soluble cmpds, as Tl/

0.18 [mg/m3]

2.0 [mg/m3]

23 [mg/m3]

For emergency situations, wear a positive pressure, pressure-demand, full facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or pressure- demand supplied air respirator with escape SCBA and a fully-encapsulating, chemical resistant suit. (EPA, 1998)

Respirator selection: 0.5 mg/cu m: Any dust and mist respirator, if not present as a fume. 1 mg/cu m: Any dust and mist respirator except single-use and quarter-mask respirators, if not present as a fume/Any supplied-air respirator. 2.5 mg/cu m: Any supplied-air respirator operated in a continuous flow mode/Any powered, air-purifying respirator with a dust and mist filter, if not present as a fume. 5 mg/cu m: Any air-purifying, full-facepiece respirator with a high-efficiency particulate filter/Any supplied-air respirator that has a tight-fitting facepiece and is operated in a continuous-flow mode/Any powered, air-purifying respirator with a tight-fitting facepiece and a high-efficiency particulate filter/Any self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece/Any supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece. 15 mg/cu m: Any supplied-air respirator that has a full facepiece and is operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode. Emergency or planned entry into unknown concentrations or IDLH conditions: Any self-contained breathing apparatus that has a full facepiece and is operated in a pressure-demand or other positive pressure mode/Any supplied-air respirator that has a full face piece and is operated in pressure-demand or other positive pressure mode in combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus operated in pressure-demand or other positive pressure mode. Escape: Any air-purifying, full-facepiece respirator with a high-efficiency particulate filter/Any appropriate escape-type, self-contained breathing apparatus. /Thallium (soluble cmpds, as Tl/

15 mg Tl/m3 (NIOSH, 2024)

15.0 [mg/m3], as Tl (soluble compounds)

15 mg/cu m (as Tl). /Thallium (soluble cmpds, as Tl)/

One of the main methods of removing thallium (both radioactive and normal) from humans is to use Prussian blue, which is a material which absorbs thallium. Up to 20 g per day of Prussian blue is fed by mouth to the person, and it passes through their digestive system and comes out in the stool. Hemodialysis and hemoperfusion are also used to remove thallium from the blood serum. At later stage of the treatment additional potassium is used to mobilize thallium from the tissue.

Among the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are loss of hair (which led to its initial use as a depilatory before its toxicity was properly appreciated) and damage to peripheral nerves (victims may experience a sensation of walking on hot coals), although the loss of hair only generally occurs in low doses; in high doses the thallium kills before this can take effect. (Wikipedia) Thallium toxicity is complex and severe. It affects several systems in human body, including liver, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, reproductive, renal, and nervous systems. Among them, liver is an important organ which possibly assists metabolic reduction of metals; hence, it could be a noticeable organ for thallium toxicity. This is confirmed by the other study on thallium-induced toxicity in experimental animals which reported highest accumulation in liver, kidney, and ileum. (A15464)

Thallium(I) compounds have a high aqueous solubility and are readily absorbed through the skin. Part of the reason for thallium's high toxicity is that, when present in aqueous solution as the univalent thallium(I) ion (Tl+), it exhibits some similarities with essential alkali metal cations, particularly potassium (due to similar atomic radii). It can thus enter the body via potassium uptake pathways. Other aspects of thallium's chemistry differ strongly from that of the alkali metals, such its high affinity for sulfur ligands. Thus this substitution disrupts many cellular processes (for instance, thallium may attack sulfur-containing proteins such as cysteine residues and ferredoxins). (Wikipedia) A 2013 study found evidence that the thallium(I)-induced liver toxicity is a result of the disruptive effect of this metal on the mitochondrial respiratory complexes (I, II, and IV), which are the obvious causes of metal-induced reactive oxygen species formation and ATP depletion. The latter two events, in turn, trigger cell death signaling via opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore and cytochrome c expulsion. (A15464)

The following medical procedures should be made available to each employee who is exposed to ... thallium /and thallium/ compounds at potentially hazardous levels: Initial Medical Examination: A complete history and physical examination: The purpose is to detect existing conditions that might place the exposed employee at increased risk, and to establish a baseline for future health monitoring. Examination of the eyes, nervous system, lung, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and body hair should be stressed. Urinalysis: Since kidney damage has been observed in humans exposed to thallium, a urinalysis should be obtained to include at a minimum specific gravity, albumin, glucose, and a microscopic /examination/ on centrifuged sediment. Periodic Medical Examination: These medical examinations should be repeated on an annual basis. /Thallium and thallium compounds/

Thallium is a skin sensitizer and cumulative poison which is toxic by ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption. /Soluble thallium compounds/

MONOVALENT THALLIUM SALTS ARE MORE CLOSELY RELATED, CHEMICALLY & TOXICOLOGICALLY, TO DIVALENT LEAD, ALTHOUGH ACUTE TOXICITY OF THALLIUM CMPD IS MUCH HIGHER. /MONOVALENT THALLIUM SALTS/

... DRASTIC EXPOSURE OF RABBIT EYE FOR 10 MINUTES TO A NEUTRAL SATURATED SOLN OF THALLIUM CHLORIDE, WITH EPITHELIUM ... REMOVED TO FACILITATE PENETRATION, CAUSED MODERATE EDEMA & HAZE IN CORNEA, WHICH GRADUALLY CLEARED FROM THE PERIPHERY BUT LEFT A NEBULOUS AREA AXIALLY.

DOSE- & TIME-DEPENDENT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE LUNG OF RATS FOLLOWING INTRATRACHEAL ADMIN OF 0.5 & 5 MG THALLOUS IODIDE, THALLOUS BROMIDE, OR THALLOUS CHLORIDE OR THEIR MIXTURES. ALVEOLAR EMPHYSEMA & ATELECTASIS DEVELOPED AFTER 3 MONTHS. BRONCHIAL ECTASIA, EMPHYSEMA, & PNEUMOSCLEROSIS WERE OBSERVED AT 6 MONTHS. AT 9-12 MONTHS, FIBROSIS, EMPHYSEMA, & ATELECTASIS WERE STILL NOTICEABLE, ALTHOUGH OF WEAKENING INTENSITY. THE IODIDE SALTS WERE THE MOST TOXIC.

THALLIUM CHLORIDE SHOWED ... ACTIVITY ... AGAINST ASCITIC FORM OF WALKER 256 CARCINOSARCOMA INCREASING MEDIAN SURVIVAL TIME TO GREATER THAN 700% OF THAT OF CONTROLS; 25% OF THE TUMOR-BEARING RATS WERE LONG-TERM SURVIVORS. ... HAD NO ACTIVITY AGAINST SOLID FORM OF WALKER 256 ... .

U216; As stipulated in 40 CFR 261.33, when thallium(I) chloride, as a commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate or an off-specification commercial chemical product or a manufacturing chemical intermediate, becomes a waste, it must be managed according to Federal and/or State hazardous waste regulations. Also defined as a hazardous waste is any residue, contaminated soil, water, or other debris resulting from the cleanup of a spill, into water or on dry land, of this waste. Generators of small quantities of this waste may qualify for partial exclusion from hazardous waste regulations (40 CFR 261.5).

Persons in charge of vessels or facilities are required to notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately, when there is a release of this designated hazardous substance, in an amount equal to or greater than its reportable quantity of 100 lb or 45.4 kg. The toll free number of the NRC is (800) 424-8802; In the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (202) 426-2675. The rule for determining when notification is required is stated in 40 CFR 302.4 (section IV. D.3.b).

Releases of CERCLA hazardous substances are subject to the release reporting requirement of CERCLA section 103, codified at 40 CFR part 302, in addition to the requirements of 40 CFR part 355. Thallous chloride is an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) subject to reporting requirements when stored in amounts in excess of its threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of 100/10,000 lbs.

(AZ) ARIZONA 13 ug/l /Thallium/

(MN) MINNESOTA 0.6 ug/l /Thallium/

Used as a chlorination catalyst and in suntan lamps; [HSDB]

AS CATALYST IN CHLORINATIONS

SUNTAN LAMPS

Thallium(I) ions are found geologically mostly in potassium-based ores. Commercially, however, thallium is produced not from potassium ores, but as a byproduct from refining of heavy metal sulfide ores. Approximately 60–70% of thallium production is used in the electronics industry, and the remainder is used in the pharmaceutical industry and in glass manufacturing. It is also used in infrared detectors. The radioisotope thallium-201 (as the soluble chloride TlCl) is used in small, nontoxic amounts as an agent in a nuclear medicine scan, during one type of nuclear cardiac stress test. Soluble thallium salts were historically used in rat poisons and insecticides. Because of its historic popularity as a murder weapon, thallium has gained notoriety as "the poisoner's poison" and "inheritance powder" (alongside arsenic). (Wikipedia)

THALLOUS CHLORIDE PRECIPITATES ON ADDING CHLORIDE ION (FROM HYDROCHLORIC ACID OR A SOLUBLE METAL CHLORIDE) TO AN AQUEOUS THALLOUS SALT, AND CAN BE PURIFIED BY RECRYSTALLIZATION FROM WATER OR DISTILLATION UNDER NITROGEN; FOR HIGH PURITY, USE HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND THALLOUS SULPHATE