1.1 WHAT IS ANTIMONY?Antimony is a

1.1 WHAT IS ANTIMONY?
Antimony is a silvery white metal of medium hardness that breaks easily.
Small amounts of antimony are found in the earth's crust. Antimony ores are
mined and then either changed into antimony metal or combined with oxygen to
form antimony oxide.
Antimony oxide is a white powder that does not evaporate. Only a small
amount of it will dissolve in water. Most antimony oxide produced is added to
textiles and plastics to prevent their catching on fire.
Antimony metal is too easily broken to be used much by itself. To make
it stronger, a little antimony is usually mixed with other metals such as lead
and zinc to form mixtures of metals called alloys. These alloys are used in
lead storage batteries, solder, sheet and pipe metal, bearings, castings, type
metal, ammunition, and pewter.
Antimony enters the environment during the mining and processing of its
ores and in the production of antimony metal, alloys, antimony oxide, and2
1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT
combinations of antimony with other substances. Little or no antimony is mined
in the United States, Antimony ore and impure metals are brought into this
country from other countries for processing. Small amounts of antimony are
also released into the environment by incinerators and coal-burning power
plants. The antimony that comes out of the smoke stacks of these plants is
attached to very small particles that settle to the ground or are washed out
of the air by rain. It usually takes many days for antimony to be removed from
the air. Antimony attached to very small particles may stay in the air for
more than a month. Antimony cannot be destroyed in the environment. It can
only change its form or become attached to or separated from particles. Most
antimony will end up in the soil or sediment, where it attaches strongly to
particles that contain iron, manganese, or aluminum. For more information, see
Chapters 3, 4, and 5.