2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

52

Te

Tellurium

52

◼ Antimony $8.60/ kg Metal

◼ Tellurium $50.50 / kg 99% metal,Rotterdam market

◼ Iodine $22 / kg Average valueof imports,cost,insurance, and freight

Bloomberg Businessweek / SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 THE ELEMENTS

Salting the Earth

53

I

Iodine

Evenasnoniodizedsea

saltsaregainingpopularity

in theU.S.,iodization

hasbeena public-health

successstoryglobally—

ensuringproperbodyand

braindevelopmentand

preventingissuessuchas

goitersandhypothyroidism.

TheIodineGlobalNetwork,

anallianceofgovernments,

nongovernmental

organizations,andindustry

partners,estimatesthat

a $1donationprovides

enoughiodizedsaltto

sustain 100 participants

in itsprograms.

INSUFFICIENT

COUNTRIES

WITHOPTIMAL

LEVELS

EXCESS

Dietaryiodinelevels

2003 2018

hadlikelysuppliedmuchof

EuropeandtheMediterranean.

Textsandarchaeological

digssuggestthattintrav-

eledfromAfghanistanwestto

Mesopotamiaandsoutheast

to theIndusValley.Butlit-

tlemorewasknownuntil

recentdecades,whenscien-

tifictechniquesbeganto trace

ancienttradenetworkswith

greatercertainty.

Byanalyzingthepropor-

tionofdifferentleadisotopes

in oresamplestakenfromsites

knowntohavebeenexploited

in antiquity,researchershave

developed“fingerprints”they

canmatchtothemetalin

someartifacts.Thetechnique,

knownasleadisotopeanal-

ysis,hasbeenaroundsince

the1960s,butit’sbeenchal-

lengingtoapplytotinbecause

thereareveryfewBronzeAge

samples,andcassiterite,the

metal’s primaryore,doesn’t

generallycontainmuchlead.

Recentadvancesin lead

isotope analysis,however,

combinedwiththestudy

of antimony,indium,silver,

andotherelements,havelet

researcherslinkmid-16th

centuryB.C.tiningotsfound

in Cretewithtindepositsin

AfghanistanandTajikistan,

and13thto14thcentury

ingotsfrompresent-dayIsrael

toCornwallandtheIberian

Peninsula.Researcherspub-

lishingin thejournalPLOS

Onethisyeartracedthe

east-to-westshiftin tinsup-

plyroutestothedeclineof

theMinoancivilizationand

theriseoftheMycenaeans,

wholaidthefoundationsfor

ClassicalGreece.

AsfortheUluburunship-

wreck,thesameresearchers

lamentedthatitstiningots

weretoocorrodedforreliable

analysis.Thebesttheycould

say,basedonthesamples’low

concentrationofindium,was

thatthetinlikelydidn’tcome

fromCornwall.Withimprove-

mentsin thescience,the

picturemayfilloutmore—for

nowallthat’scertainis that

tradersvaluedit enoughto

bringit a longwaybeforeit

metitswateryend.

51

Sb

Antimony

WHAT IF YOU EAT IT?

●Whoeatstellurium?

Veryfewpeople;it’smoreofan

occupationalhazardforpeopleworkingin

silverrefineries.

●Whatdoesit tastelike?

If touchedorconsumed,themetalloidwill

instantlymetabolizeintoa compoundwith

a stronggarlicsmellthatcanhangaround

forweeks.

●Whatdoesit do?

Telluriumexposurecancauseweightlossor

drowsiness,andseverepoisoningcanslow

breathingandstopcirculation.

5

13

121

21

54

67

EXPLOSIVELIQUIDDROPLETS

By Dimitra Kessenides

Those three words, from a seminal 1978 paper

by Nevada biology professor and amateur

pyrotechnician Robert Winokur, describe the liquid

molten pellets packed with antimony trisulfide that

create a glitter effect when ignited. “As the pellets fall

through the air, chemistry goes on,” says Winokur,

now retired. “Then an array of combustion products

are produced by the burning pellet.” There isn’t one

magical recipe for the best glitter effect, Winokur

says—a typical formula consists of 10% antimony

trisulfide, which “increases the delay between the

formation of the droplet and the flash reaction.”

These days, he adds, a similar effect can be achieved

using cheaper, more sulfurous mixes.