Overview
Lanthanides are a group of 15 naturally occurring metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers ranging from 57 (lanthanum) to 71 (tantalum) (Lutetium). The “4f” sublevel of these components is filled. Lanthanides share comparable physical and chemical characteristics and are used in a variety of commercial and scientific applications.
Lanthanides are a unique group of metals that are used in innovative materials, catalysis, biomedical imaging, and lasers. Chemically, these 15 elements are quite close to one another, with only minor differences in radius. The lanthanides' f electrons are strongly insulated and do not engage in bonding in general, making them chemically quite similar to one another.
Environmental exposure of lanthanides
In China, where lanthanides are utilised as fertilisers, environmental lanthanide exposure is well-known. Lanthanide compounds can also be detected in precious metal mining effluent (e.g., gold or uranium mining). Mining and lanthanide refining have some unintended environmental consequences, such as (1)some ores naturally contain uranium and thorium, which have a low natural radioactivity and may be present in wastes and/or lanthanide products; and (2) refining necessitates acids, which solubilize the lanthanides, increasing bioavailability and potential fate and transport in both water and soil.
Raised use of lanthanides in new sectors over the last decade has increased the risk of environmental and human exposure to these chemical substances. The bioavailability of lanthanides, which is related to their form (complexed or free) and solubility, determines their potential environmental exposure, human toxicity, and ecotoxicity.
What is toxicity and lanthanides?
There is no known critical role for lanthanide or actinide elements in typical metabolic processes in living creatures, including plants, animals, and humans. As a result, their interactions with numerous cell and tissue components have the potential to cause chemical and radiation damage.
Lanthanides have a chemical toxicity that stems from competing with calcium in a variety of calcium-mediated biological activities. Actinides, in particular, are radiotoxic. Both categories' elements, like any foreign element, should bind to various biological ligands (proteins, amino acids, etc.) and, by analogy, take the place of native biological elements.
Toxicity of lanthanides in wastewater
To establish the influence of chemical additions on the ecosystem, the toxicity of chemical additives in wastewater should be investigated. The additive should, in theory, perform what it's supposed to do, be discharged in a little amount, and have no negative impacts on the environment.
The US EPA has developed procedures for assessing effluent toxicity, known as the Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) test, to validate this.
The WET test is used to determine the number of organisms that may live in water after being dosed with either industrial effluent or a chemical additive.
Conclusion
Lanthanides have a low toxicity rating in general. Lanthanum carbonate breaks down and mixes with phosphate to generate lanthanum phosphate in the acidic mammalian gastrointestinal system, eliminating phosphorus from the human body. In humans and animals, lanthanum carbonate, and hence lanthanum phosphate, has a very low toxicity. There is no evidence that lanthanum phosphate is a genotoxic substance (causes cancer or other significant health problems).
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