List of Toxic and heavy Metals

December 2014 - List of Heavy and Toxic Metals with brief descriptions of each and their uses; this list will be added to as more information becomes available. Each heavy metal will have an article attached.

1. Arsenic (As) - a steel-gray poisonous solid element that is a brittle crystalline metalloid. Use: in glass manufacture to remove impurities of color, in alloys to harden lead.

2. Aluminum (Al) - a silvery white, light metallic element that is ductile, malleable, and resistant to corrosion. Use: lightweight construction, corrosion-resistant materials.

3. Antimony (Sb) - a toxic crystalline element that occurs in metallic and nonmetallic forms. Use: alloys, electronics.

4. Barium (Ba) - a soft metal that is a silver-white color.

5. Beryllium (Be) - a gray-white metallic element that is light, hard, brittle, and resists corrosion. Use: alloys, lightweight construction material, windows in X-ray tubes.

6. Cadmium (Cd) - a soft malleable toxic bluish white metallic element. Use: alloys,
electroplating, nuclear reactors, dental amalgams, pigments, electronics.

7. Chromium (Cr) - a hard bluish white metallic element. Use: alloys and electroplating to increase hardness and corrosion resistance.

8. Cobalt (Co) - a tough brittle silvery white metallic element. Use: coloring ceramics, alloys.

9. Copper (Cu) - a malleable, reddish brown metallic element that is a good conductor of electricity and heat. Use: wiring, coatings, alloys.

10. Iron (Fe)- a heavy, magnetic, malleable, ductile, lustrous, silvery white metallic element that is present in very small quantities in the blood and is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Use: engineering and structural products.

11. Nickel (Ni) - a hard corrosion-resistant silvery-white metallic element. Use: in alloys, batteries, electroplating, and catalyst.

12. Lead (Pb) - a heavy bluish gray metallic element that bends easily. Use: car batteries, pipes, solder radiation shields.

13. Manganese (Mn) - a brittle grayish white metallic element. Use: alloys, strengthening steel.

14. Mercury (Hg) - a poisonous heavy silver-white metallic element that is liquid at room
temperature. Use: thermometers, barometers, pharmaceuticals, dental fillings, lamps.

15. Molybdenum (Mo) - a very hard silvery metallic element. Use: strengthening steel alloys.

16. Rubidium (Rb) - a soft silvery white radioactive element of the alkali metal group that reacts strongly with water and bursts into flame when exposed to air. Use: photocells.

17. Scandium (Sc) - a rare silvery white metallic element. Use: tracer.

18. Selenium (Se) - a nonmetallic element that occurs in several forms ranging from a red powder to gray black crystals and is an essential trace element, although toxic in excess. Use: photocells, photocopiers.

19. Strontium (Sr) - a soft yellow or silvery white metallic element of the alkaline-earth group, found only in combination with other substances. Use: fireworks, flares, alloys.

20. Tin (Sn) - a silvery, easily shaped metallic element. Use: alloys such as solder, bronze, and pewter, protective coating for steel.

21. Titanium (Ti) - a strong, lightweight, corrosion-resistant silvery metallic element. Use: manufacture of alloys for aerospace industry.

22. Tungsten (W)- a hard lustrous gray metallic element with a very high melting point. Use: high temperature alloys, lamp filaments, high-speed cutting tools.

23. Vanadium (V) - a poisonous silvery white metallic element. Use: manufacture of tough steel alloys, catalyst.

24. Zinc (Zn) - a bluish white metallic element. Use: in alloys such as brass and German silver, as a protective corrosion-resistant coating for other metals, especially steel and iron.

[The information contained in this article is believed to be reliable. I have taken every precaution to verify its accuracy; I am not a medical professional and make no warranties, representations or guarantees of any kind as to its accuracy. Medical knowledge is in a constant state of change, and what I have written here may be out of date by the time you read it. The information that I have provided here is for informational purposes only and not for use in diagnosing any condition that you may or may not have. Always consult with you doctor before treating yourself.]