LanthanumK
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Selenium toxicity
I burned a small bead of selenium, releasing some whitish selenium dioxide smoke. I also heated the same bead to boiling. I know this released a
significant amount of Se vapor. I smelled a garlicky smell in the air but did not breathe much in. How toxic is selenium and its compounds?
hibernating...
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CHRIS25
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Hi, I looked at your blog. It seems you are quite knowledgeable and intelligent, However I was surprised by your question. I copied and pasted your
statement into Google search -:How toxic is selenium and its compounds:- and got a wealth of information.....
‘Calcination… is such a Separation of Bodies by Fire, as makes ‘em easily reducible into Powder; and for that reason ‘tis call’d by some
Chymical Pulverization.’ (John Friend, Chymical Lectures London, 1712)
Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. (William Penn 1644-1718)
The very nature of Random, Chance development precludes the existence of Order - strange that our organic and inorganic world is so well defined by
precision and law. (me)
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woelen
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Much of the information on internet is scary, but a lot of it (not all though) is fed by chemophopia or is about industrial quantities and full day
exposure times, so read the information with a grain of salt. In practice there are very few compounds which are so dangerous that a single whiff will
lead to serious health issues. Selenium is quite toxic, but if you just smelled a few whiffs then I would not panic about it.
But, next time, assure that you do not breathe any selenium or compounds of this. Selenium can build up in your body and is released slowly, so if you
breathe selenium frequently, then you may experience health issues in the long run.
If you do experiments with selenium or its compounds in which vapors or gases can escape into the air, then do those experiments on a breezy day,
outside, or do them in a good fume hood. Assure that people around you (neighbours!) cannot inhale the vapors from your experiments.
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Adas
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Inorganic selenium compounds are more toxic than organic. But if you don't have a problem, you should be fine.
Rest In Pieces!
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LanthanumK
Hazard to Others
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Quote: Originally posted by CHRIS25  | | Hi, I looked at your blog. It seems you are quite knowledgeable and intelligent, However I was surprised by your question. I copied and pasted your
statement into Google search -:How toxic is selenium and its compounds:- and got a wealth of information..... |
Yes I did the same search, specifically checking the MSDS for selenium dioxide. However, I did not see specific information for my case so I decided
to ask someone who has experience working with selenium.
hibernating...
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