Many aluminum compounds have niche applications, for example:
Aluminum acetate in solution is used as an astringent.
Aluminum phosphate is used in the manufacture of glass, ceramic, pulp and paper products, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, and in dental cement.
Aluminum hydroxide is used as an antacid, it is used also in water purification, the manufacture of glass and ceramics, and in the waterproofing of fabrics.
Lithium aluminum hydride is a powerful reducing agent used in organic chemistry.
In many vaccines, certain aluminum salts serve as an immune adjuvant in many vaccines. to allow the protein in the vaccine to achieve sufficient potency as an immune stimulant.
Aluminum has no known function in biology.
Aluminum is classified as a non-carcinogen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
There is little evidence that normal exposure to aluminium presents a risk to healthy adult, and a multi-element toxicology review was unable to find deleterious effects of aluminium consumed in amounts not greater than 40 mg/day per kg of body mass.
Most aluminum consumed will leave the body in feces; most of the small part of it that enters the bloodstream, will be excreted via urine.
Some aluminum does pass the blood-brain barrier and is lodged preferentially in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, and may act by electrostatically crosslinking proteins, thus down-regulating genes in the superior temporal gyrus.
It aluminum, rarely, can cause vitamin D-resistant osteomalacia, erythropoietin-resistant microcytic anemia, and central nervous system alterations: People with kidney insufficiency are especially at a risk.
Chronic ingestion of hydrated aluminium silicates, as for excess gastric acidity control may result in aluminium binding to intestinal contents and increased elimination of other metals, such as iron or zinc; sufficiently high doses can cause anemia.
Aluminum has been suspected of being a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but research has found no good evidence of causal effect.
At very high doses, aluminium is associated with altered function of the blood–brain barrier.
A small percentage of patients have contact allergies to aluminum and experience itchy red rashes, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, poor memory, insomnia, depression, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, or other symptoms upon contact with products containing aluminum.
Exposure to powdered aluminum or aluminum welding fumes can cause pulmonary fibrosis.
Food is the main source of aluminum.
Drinking water contains more aluminum than solid food, however, aluminum in food may be absorbed more than aluminium from water.
The major sources of human exposure to aluminum include food-food additives, food and beverage packaging, and cooking utensils, drinking water due to its use in municipal water treatment, and aluminum-containing medications particularly antacid/antiulcer and buffered aspirin formulations.
Higher exposure levels of aluminum are mostly limited to miners, aluminium production workers, and dialysis patients.
Consumption of antacids, antiperspirants, vaccines, and cosmetics provide possible routes of exposure.
Consumption of acidic foods or liquids with aluminium enhances aluminum absorption.
Aluminum is the most abundant metal in Earth’s crust
Most people are exposed to aluminum through food, drinking water, and some consumer products.
The average person consumes 7-9mg of aluminum daily through food.
For healthy individuals with normal kidney function, aluminum exposure from everyday sources poses minimal risk.
The body efficiently eliminates most aluminum through urine.
People with impaired kidney function may accumulate aluminum since they cannot filter it effectively.
Workers in aluminum’s production facilities or related industries may experience higher exposure levels, potentially leading to respiratory issues like pulmonary fibrosis with long-term, heavy exposure.
Modern anodized aluminum cookware is generally considered safe.
Acidic foods may increase aluminum leaching, but levels remain well below safety thresholds.
The scientific consensus does not support aluminum as a primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
Some vaccines contain aluminum salts as adjuvants. These small amounts help stimulate immune response and have demonstrated safety through extensive research.
Regulatory agencies worldwide consider normal environmental aluminum exposure safe for most people, with a tolerable weekly intake of 2mg/kg body weight.
The only treatment for massive exposure is deferoxamine mesylate which may be given to help eliminate aluminium from the body by chelation therapy: this reduces not only aluminium body levels, but also those of other metals such as copper or iron.[207]
The aluminum industry generates about 70 million tons of this waste annually.
High levels of aluminum are present near mining sites and small amounts of aluminium are released to the environment at coal-fired power plants or incinerators.
Aluminum in the air is washed out by the rain or normally settles.
Small particles of aluminum remain in the air for a long time.
Acidic precipitation is the main factor to mobilize aluminum from natural sources, and the main reason for the environmental effects of aluminum.
The main factor of presence of aluminium in salt and freshwater are the industrial processes that also release aluminium into air.
Greenhouse gas emissions.result from electrical consumption of the smelters and the byproducts of processing.