Tungsten

• Published in: Handbook on the Toxicology of Metals: Volume II: Specific Metals p. 869
• Main Authors: Mann, Koren K., Bakadlag, Rowa, Leffler, Per E
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: The Netherlands Elsevier Science & Technology 2021
• Subjects: Cobalt; Green bullet; Hard metal disease; Interaction; Molybdenum; Nanoparticles; Nickel; Tumorigenic; Tungsten; Wolfram
• ISBN: 0128229462; 9780128229460
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-822946-0.00031-3

Tungsten is a rare element with a natural abundance thought to be around 1.5 parts per million. It is remarkable for its robust physical properties, making it useful for many industrial applications. Tungsten is the heaviest metal to have a known biological role as it is essential as a cofactor for oxidoreductases in some thermophilic prokaryotes. In animal models, ingested and inhaled tungsten is rapidly absorbed and excreted in the urine. The remaining tungsten in the body is distributed mainly to the spleen, kidney, and bone, with the highest tungsten accumulation in the bone. Tungsten metabolism closely resembles molybdenum in chemical properties. Occupational inhalation exposure to tungsten carbide dust has been linked to cases of pulmonary fibrosis, a hard metal disease, although the contribution of tungsten carbide versus cobalt coexposure is unclear. Small quantities of tungsten are present in food and water and trace quantities, related to industrial emissions, are found in the general atmosphere. Tungsten is also present in human serum, urine, and feces, with elimination approximately balancing intake of the metal in the few nonindustrially exposed subjects studied. Industrial, medical, and military uses of tungsten have been expanding rapidly; therefore, the potential for tungsten spreading into the environment is rapidly increasing.