Radium

Type: Periodic Element
Periodic Element: (Ra)
RDA: 0.1 micrograms of ingested radium. (maximum daily dose, 1944)
Importance- to Body:
Toxic
Distribution- In Body:
When ingested, 80% of the ingested radium leaves the body through the feces, while the other 20% goes into the bloodstream, mostly accumulating in the bones.
Excess Effects:
Radium-dermatitis, Dermatitis, Cancer, Cell Death, Cell Mutation, Other Disorders
Deficiency Effects:
None listed
Sources Food:
None listed
Sources Environmental/Geographic:
In nature, radium is found in tiny quantities in the uranium ore uraninite and various other uranium minerals, and in even tinier quantities in thorium minerals. One ton of pitchblende typically yields about one seventh of a gram of radium. One kilogram of the Earth’s crust contains about 900 picograms of radium, and one liter of sea water contains about 89 femtograms of radium.
Supplemental information: