Cobalt poisoning Cobalt poisoning Cobalt poisoning is intoxication caused by excessive levels of cobalt in the body. Cobalt is an essential element for health in animals in minute amounts as a component of Vitamin B. A deficiency of cobalt, which is very rare, is also potentially lethal, leading to pernicious anemia. Exposure to cobalt metal dust is most common in the fabrication of tungsten carbide. Another potential source is wear and tear of metal-on-metal hip prostheses. The value for soluble cobalt salts has been estimated to be between 150 and 500 mg/kg. Thus, for a 100 kg person the LD would be
Cobalt (Co). The primary decay mode for isotopes with atomic mass unit values less than that of the most abundant stable isotope, Co, is electron capture and the primary mode of decay in isotopes with atomic mass greater than 59 atomic mass units is beta decay. The primary decay products below Co are element 26 (iron) isotopes; above that the decay products are element 28 (nickel) isotopes. Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics. Cobalt has been detected in Egyptian sculpture, Persian jewelry from the third millennium BC, in the