Potential Dangers for Titanium

Titanium distributors sell titanium products to different companies around the world. Titanium has uses in nearly every industry in the world, from custom pipe creation, to jewelry, to mechanical components, to spaceship bodies. Titanium as a whole provides few dangers to humans or the environment, but under certain conditions, the metal can pose a health hazard to humans and the world around us. Explore some of the potential dangers of working with titanium before using the metal supplied by titanium distributors in close proximity to your workers:
Bio-accumulation: Titanium is a naturally-occurring material present in many plants and other materials that we eat everyday. According to a 2001 study published in the Oxford University Press, humans ingest about .8 milligrams of titanium each day. Normally this is not a problem, but if the body has a high concentration of silica, for any reason, the metal tends to cling to the cells containing silica. Even so, it is not likely that any person will ever ingest enough titanium to pose a health risk.
Fire hazard: Titanium oxide, the powdered form of the metal, can pose a fire hazard under certain conditions. When the powder or metal shavings are present, they are highly flammable. The shavings are also flammable in the air, which can most a danger when moving the shavings from one place to another. If the powder is heated in the air, it can also explode. A special Class D powder is necessary to extinguish a titanium fire.
Dangers with chlorine: Dry chlorine gas will cause the titanium powder to ignite. Titanium cannot be used in the same area as places with dry chlorine gas to avoid fires and injuries to humans.
Liquid oxygen: When titanium comes in contact with liquid oxygen, it can ignite. This causes a fast, high temperature burn that is difficult to ignite. This unique property of titanium makes it impossible to use near liquid oxygen, so it cannot be used in liquid oxygen systems as used in many aerospace components.