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Barium
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Barium-containing contrast solutions are commonly used in radiologic studies. On May 22, 2003, three patients at radiology clinics in Goias State, Brazil, were hospitalized after ingesting such solutions; two persons died within 24 hours of hospitalization. Exposure occurred during radiologic examination of the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract. An investigation was conducted by municipal and state public health authorities with assistance from the Ministry of Health's National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA) and Brazil's Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), known locally as EPISUS. This report summarizes the results of that investigation, which found that 44 persons had suspected barium toxicity (Figure), nine of whom died. Eight of the nine deaths were linked to a single lot of brand A contrast solution.
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Barium is a member of the alkaline earth metals. The alkaline earth metals make up Group 2 (IIA) of the periodic table. The other elements in this group are beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and radium. These elements tend to be relatively active chemically and form a number of important and useful compounds. They ... tend to occur abundantly in the Earth's crust in a number of familiar minerals such as aragonite, calcite, chalk, Limestone, marble, travertine, magnesite, and dolomite. Alkaline earth compounds are widely used as building materials.
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Properties: Barium has a melting point of 725°C, boiling point of 1640°C, specific gravity of 3.5 (20°C), with a valence of 2. Barium is a soft metallic element. In its pure form, it is silvery white. The metal oxidizes readily and should be stored under petroleum or other oxygen-free liquids. Barium decomposes in water or alcohol. Impure barium sulfide phosphoresces following exposure to light.
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Barium itself tends to have relatively few commercial uses. However, its compounds have a wide variety of applications in industry and medicine. Barium sulfate is used in X-ray studies of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. The GI system includes the stomach, intestines, and associated organs.
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Barium, which is slightly harder than lead, has a silvery white lustre when freshly cut. In nature it is always found combined with other elements. The Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered (1774) a new base (baryta, or barium oxide) as a minor constituent in pyrolusite, and from this base he prepared some crystals of barium sulfate, which he sent to Johan Gottlieb Gahn, the discoverer of manganese. A month later Gahn found that the mineral barite is ... composed of barium sulfate. Only after the electric battery became available could Sir Humphry Davy finally isolate (1808) the element itself by electrolysis.
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Barium enters your body when you breathe air, eat food, or drink water containing barium. It may ... enter your body to a small extent when you have direct skin contact with barium compounds. Barium that you breathe seems to enter the bloodstream very easily. Barium does not seem to enter the bloodstream as well from the stomach or intestines. How much barium actually gets into your bloodstream depends on how much barium you breathe, eat, or drink and how easily the form of barium you breathe dissolves in the fluids in your body. Some barium compounds (for example, barium chloride) can enter your body through your skin, but this is very rare and usually occurs in industrial accidents at factories where they make or use barium compounds.
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Barium