Precautions
Iridium in bulk metallic form is not biologically important or hazardous to health due to its lack of reactivity with tissues; there are only about 20 parts per trillion of iridium in human tissue. However, finely divided iridium powder can be hazardous to handle, as it is an irritant and may ignite in air. Very little is known about the toxicity of iridium compounds because they are used in very small amounts, but soluble salts, such as the iridium halides, could be hazardous due to elements other than iridium or due to iridium itself. However, most iridium compounds are insoluble, which makes absorption into the body difficult.
A radioisotope of iridium, 192Ir, is dangerous like other radioactive isotopes. The only reported injuries related to iridium concern accidental exposure to radiation from 192Ir used in brachytherapy. High-energy gamma radiation from 192Ir can increase the risk of cancer. External exposure can cause burns, radiation poisoning, and death. Ingestion of 192Ir can burn the linings of the stomach and the intestines. 192Ir, 192mIr, and 194mIr tend to deposit in the liver, and can pose health hazards from both gamma and beta radiation.
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Famous quotes containing the word precautions:
“It is so manifestly incompatible with those precautions for our peace and safety, which all the great powers habitually observe and enforce in matters affecting them, that a shorter water way between our eastern and western seaboards should be dominated by any European government, that we may confidently expect that such a purpose will not be entertained by any friendly power.”
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“A multitude of little superfluous precautions engender here a population of deputies and sub-officials, each of whom acquits himself with an air of importance and a rigorous precision, which seemed to say, though everything is done with much silence, “Make way, I am one of the members of the grand machine of state.””
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“We must take precautions against being prematurely honed sharp—since at the same time we are being prematurely honed thin.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)