Thallium toxicity

Abstract

Thallium (T1+) is a toxic heavy metal which was accidentally discovered by Sir William Crookes in 1861 by burning the dust from a sulfuric acid industrial plant. He observed a bright green spectral band that quickly disappeared. Crookes named the new element 'Thallium' (after thallos meaning young shoot). In 1862, Lamy described the same spectral line and studied both the physical and chemical properties of this new element (Prick, J.J.G., 1979. Thallium poisoning. In: Vinkrn, P.J., Bruyn, G.W. (Eds.), Intoxication of the Nervous System, Handbook of Clinical Neurology, vol. 36. North-Holland, New York. pp. 239-278).