Precautions
Finely divided palladium metal can be pyrophoric. As a platinum-group metal, the bulk material is quite inert. Although contact dermatitis has been reported, the amount of data on the effects of exposure to palladium is limited. It has been shown that people with an allergic reaction to palladium also react to nickel, making it possible to avoid the use of dental alloys containing palladium on those so allergic.
A considerable amount of palladium is distributed by the exhausts of cars with catalytic converters. Between 4 and 108 ng/km of palladium particulate is released by such cars. Its total uptake from food is estimated to be lower than 2 µg per person a day. The second possible source for palladium is alloys for dental restoration, there the possible uptake of palladium is estimated to be lower than 15 µg per person per day. People working with palladium or its compounds might have a considerably higher uptake. For soluble compounds like palladium chloride 99% is eliminated from the body within 3 days.
The median lethal dose (LD50) of soluble palladium compounds in mice is 200 mg/kg for oral and 5 mg/kg for intravenous administration.
Read more about this topic: Palladium
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
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