Stuart Ridgway on mon 27 apr 98
Hi Amy
Extracted from the 63rd edition of the Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics, page B-25, the section on the elements:
"... The permanganate is a powerful oxidizing agent and is used in
quantitative analysis and medicine. Manganese is widely distributed
throughout the animal kingdom. It is an importantant trace element and may
be essential for the utilization of vitamin B1. Exposure to manganese
compounds as dust, fume, and compounds should not exceed 5 milligrams/cubic
meter for even short periods because of the toxicity of the element in
larger quantity."
Not too much help. A little is essential, too much is poisonous.
Flashlight batteries contained lots of manganese dioxide, and I, at the
tender age of ten or eleven, disassembled many of them to retrieve the
carbon rods that were the central element and if I got manganese poisoning
I didn't know it. I also remember doctor provided little pills of potassium
permanganate that were dissolved in water to be applied to fungus
infections, but were not intended to be taken internally.
In chemistry lab at college when we made chlorine by adding Hydrochloric
acid to manganese dioxide, we were instructed to be very careful not to
breathe the chlorine, but no particular precautions were demanded in the
handling of the manganese dioxide.
I wish I could tell you where to get more modern and detailed
information.
Stuart Ridgway
Postscript
I have sone some surfing:
The site
http://www.cyberdiet.com/foodfact/vitmins/manganese.html
suggests that 2 to 5 mg manganese per day are needed in human nutrition.
I searched on "manganese toxicity" and found several documents that implied
that soluable manganese salts could do considerable nerve damage, and one
concludes that salts such as the sulfate, nitrate, or chloride should be
avoided. Manganese dioxide is listed in Handbook of Chem and Physics as
insoluable.
Everyone seems to agree that one should not breathe any manganese compounds.
From this site:
atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080
ATSDR - 1997 CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous
Substances (n
ATSDR Logo Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry 1997 CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous
Substances The Comprehensive Environmenta
http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080/97list.html
I found the identification of a manganese toxicity document available from
the National Technical Information Service:
NTIS_number: PB/93/110781/AS
I think your cats are safe, but you are well advised to dispose of the
manganese clays, and to keep it wet as you do so that breathing dust doesn't
happen.
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