ToxFAQsTM for Tungsten
Spanish: Tungsteno
CAS#: 7440-33-7
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This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions about Tungsten. For more information, you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-800-232-4636. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present.
Highlights
Tungsten is a naturally occurring element. Exposure to very low levels of tungsten may occur by breathing air, eating food, or drinking water that contains tungsten. No specific health effects have been associated with exposure to tungsten in humans. Exposure to high levels of tungsten is unlikely. Tungsten has been found in at least 6 of the 1,662 National Priority List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What is tungsten?
Tungsten is a naturally occurring element. It occurs in rocks and minerals combined with other chemicals, but never as a pure metal. Elemental tungsten is a white to steel gray metal (depending on the purity) that can be used in pure form or mixed with other metals to make alloys. Tungsten alloys tend to be strong and flexible, resist wear, and conduct electricity well. Tungsten is used in products such as x-ray tubes, light bulbs, high-speed tools, welding electrodes, turbine blades, golf clubs, darts, fishing weights, gyroscope wheels, phonograph needles, bullets, and armor penetrators. Tungsten is also used as a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions.
Chemical compounds of tungsten are used for many purposes. Cemented tungsten carbide is a hard substance used to make grinding wheels and cutting or forming tools. Other tungsten compounds are used in ceramic pigments, as fire retardant coatings for fabrics, and as color-resistant dyes for fabrics.
What happens to tungsten when it enters the environment?
- Tungsten is an element that exists naturally in the environment.
- It is an element that cannot be formed or destroyed.
- Tungsten in water comes mainly from water dissolving tungsten
from rocks and soil that it runs over or through.
- Tungsten in air comes from the weathering of rocks, from
the mining of tungsten ore, or from emissions from industries
making tungsten metal or hard metal products.
- Tungsten particles in air can settle out onto soil, water,
or plant surfaces, or they can be brought down in rain or
snow.
- Water and air are not normally tested for tungsten.
- If coal ash, incinerator ash, or industrial waste contains
high levels of tungsten, it can increase the levels in soil
with which it is mixed.
- Most tungsten in soil binds with the soil and will not
reach groundwater.
- As soil conditions change, tungsten may dissolve out of
soil and rocks in one location and bind back to soil and
rocks in another location.
How might I be exposed to tungsten?
- You can be exposed to very low levels of tungsten by breathing
air, eating food, or drinking water that contains tungsten.
Urban air generally contains more tungsten than rural air.
- In general, exposure to tungsten from air, drinking water,
and food is expected to be very small.
- Air normally contains less than 10 nanograms of tungsten
per cubic meter (a nanogram is 1 billionth of a gram).
- Occupational exposure to higher than background levels
of tungsten may occur if you use tungsten metal or are engaged
in the machining of these metals. Occupational exposure
to tungsten carbide occurs during the machining of tungsten
carbide tools in the manufacturing process.
- Tungsten metal and metal alloys occur in consumer products
such as electronics, light bulb filaments, cemented tungsten
carbide grinding wheels and carbide tipped tools. They are
also present in "green bullets" that are made
without lead.
How can tungsten affect my health?
Tungsten compounds have caused breathing
problems and changed behavior in some animals given large
amounts of tungsten compounds. However, you are not likely
to be exposed to amounts of tungsten in the air you breathe
or the food or water you take into your body that would be
large enough to cause similar effects.
How likely is tungsten to cause cancer?
There is not enough information to determine
whether inhalation, oral, or dermal exposure to tungsten or
tungsten compounds can cause cancer in humans. Tungsten has
not been classified for carcinogenic effects by the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency
for Research on Cancer (IARC), or the EPA. Tungsten has been
recommended to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) for testing
in laboratory animals, which includes a cancer assessment.
How can tungsten affect children?
Children may be affected in the same
way as adults. We do not know whether children differ from
adults in their susceptibility to tungsten. Animal studies
have shown that tungsten can pass from the maternal blood
through the placenta and reach the fetus.
How can families reduce the risks of exposure to tungsten?
- It is very unlikely that tungsten is present in the average
home or apartment at unsafe levels.
- Use bottled water if you have concerns about the presence
of tungsten in your tap water.
- If you get tungsten dust on your clothes, shower and change
your clothes before leaving your job and returning home.
Is there a medical test to determine whether I've been exposed to tungsten?
Tests are available to measure tungsten
in your blood, urine, hair, saliva, and feces. These tests
are not usually done in the doctor's office because they require
special equipment. Elevated levels of tungsten in the feces
can mean high recent tungsten exposure. Elevated levels of
tungsten in the urine and/or blood can mean high tungsten
consumption and/or high exposure. The average urine concentration
for the U.S. population was 0.083 µg/L in 2003.
Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?
For tungsten and insoluble tungsten compounds
in air, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) recommends an exposure limit of 5 mg/m3 (average
over a 10-hour period) and a short-term (15 minutes) exposure
limit of 10 mg/m3. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) set limits for tungsten of 5 mg/m3 (insoluble compounds)
and 1 mg/m3 (soluble compounds) for construction and shipyard
industries.
References
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2005. Toxicological Profile for Tungsten (Update). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
Where can I get more information?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
For more information, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Office of Innovation and Analytics, Toxicology Section
4770 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341-3717
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO 888-232-6348 (TTY)
Email: Contact CDC-INFO
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.