Cobalt-60 Nuclear Generating Station. The cobalt targets are substituted here for a small number of fuel assemblies. After entering a living mammal (such as a human being), some of the is excreted in feces. The remainder is taken up by tissues, mainly the liver, kidneys, and bones, where the prolonged exposure to gamma radiation can cause cancer. Over time, the absorbed cobalt is eliminated in urine. Cobalt is an element used to make steel. Uncontrolled disposal of in scrap metal is responsible for the radioactivity found in several iron-based products. In August 2012, Petco recalled several models of steel pet food
Cobalt with water and oxygen to brown cobalt(III) hydroxide (Co(OH)). At temperatures of 600–700 °C, CoO oxidizes to the blue cobalt(II,III) oxide (CoO), which has a spinel structure. Black cobalt(III) oxide (CoO) is also known. Cobalt oxides are antiferromagnetic at low temperature: CoO (Néel temperature 291 K) and CoO (Néel temperature: 40 K), which is analogous to magnetite (FeO), with a mixture of +2 and +3 oxidation states. The principal chalcogenides of cobalt include the black cobalt(II) sulfides, CoS, which adopts a pyrite-like structure, and cobalt(III) sulfide (CoS). Four dihalides of cobalt(II) are known: cobalt(II) fluoride (CoF, pink), cobalt(II) chloride (CoCl,