Vanadium - 23V: biological information
Vanadium is essential to sea squirts (ascidians). The concentration of vanadium in sea squirts is a million times higher than in sea water as a consequence of their ability to concentrate vanadium.
Vanadium is a necessary part of the diet of rats and chicks, but only is very small amounts. Deficiencies cause reduced growth and impair reproduction.
Levels in humans
The abundances of the elements in humans.
- Human abundance by weight: 30 ppb by weight
- Human abundance by atoms: 4 atoms relative to C = 1000000
How much vanadium is in your body? Find out here.
You can use this form to calculate how much vanadium your body contains. Enter your weight in either kilograms or pounds and click the "Calculate" button. You must enter a number, not text! Elements for which there are no data will always give a value of zero for the weight, no matter what you put in the weight box.
Hazards and Risks
Hazards and risks associated with vanadium:
Vanadium metal powder is a fire hazard. Vanadium compounds are encountered relatively rarely by most people. In the laboratory, unless known otherwise, all vanadium compounds should be regarded as highly toxic. Vanadium compounds in some industrial smoke pollution may cause lung cancer. Industrial regulations exist to keep exposure to V2O5 dust under control.
References
- J.E. Huheey, E.A. Keiter, and R.L. Keiter in Inorganic Chemistry : Principles of Structure and Reactivity, 4th edition, HarperCollins, New York, USA, 1993.
- S. Budavari (Ed.) in The Merck Index, 11th ed., Merck, USA, 1989.
- N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.