Applications
The pure metal and compound have few commercial uses: because it is very rare
and expensive and has little to offer, Thulium find little application outside
chemical research. Thulium has been used to create lasers. When stable Thulium
(Tm-169) is bombarded in a nuclear reactor it can later serve as a radiation
source in portable X-ray devices. It also has potential use in ceramic magnetic
materials called ferrites , which are used in microwave equipment. Thulium-doped
Calcium sulphate has been used in personal radiation dosimeters because it can
register, by its fluorescence, especially low levels.
Thulium in the environment
The element is never found in nature in pure form but it is found in small
quantities in minerals with other rare earths. It is principally extracted from
monazite , which contains about 0.007% of Thulium and bastnasite (about
0.0008%). The chief ores are in China, US, Brazil, India, Sri lanka and
Australia. Reserves of Thulium are estimated to be about 100.000 tonnes. World
production is about 50 tonnes per year as Thulium oxide. Thulim is the second
rarest lenthanide element, after Promethium.
Health effects of Thulium
Soluble Thulium salts are regarded as slightly toxic in taken in large amounts,
but the soluble salts are completely not toxic.
Effects of Thulium on the environment
Thulium poses no enviromental threat to plants and animals.
