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Solid ruthenium metal is completely safe and non-toxic for humans, making it suitable for jewelry and bullion.
However, certain ruthenium compounds are highly dangerous.
Ruthenium tetroxide is extremely toxic when inhaled, causing severe respiratory problems and potential respiratory failure.
Radioactive ruthenium isotopes (like Ruthenium-106 and -103) exist in nuclear facilities and can be released during accidents, increasing cancer risk through radiation exposure.
Standard ruthenium used in commercial products contains seven stable, non-radioactive isotopes.
Ruthenium allergies differ from toxicity, causing only skin reactions in sensitive individuals. Overall, everyday ruthenium products pose no health risks to the general population.
Learn more below!
- Is Ruthenium Toxic to Humans? Or is it Safe?
- Is Ruthenium Toxicity the Same as Ruthenium Allergies?
- Is Ruthenium Jewelry Toxic and Dangerous to Humans or Not?
- Is Ruthenium Bullion Toxic to Humans Or Not?
- Is Ruthenium Radioactive? Is it Dangerous to Humans?
Take this quiz and test your knowledge on ruthenium’s toxicity and radioactivity.
Table of Contents
Is Ruthenium Toxic to Humans? Or is it Safe?
Ruthenium in its solid, metallic form is 100% safe and non-toxic to humans. Solid ruthenium is used in jewelry design and precious metals bullion creation and this is the ruthenium form you’ll encounter in normal life and normal circumstances.
Some ruthenium forms are highly toxic to humans, but these are the compounds you’ll encounter only in a chemist lab, possibly because you’re also a chemist working with this noble metal.
- Ruthenium Tetroxide. This golden-yellow, volatile solid (or solution) is extremely toxic via inhalation and can react violently with organic materials. It irritates the respiratory tract and causes eye damage and potentially respiratory failure, similar to osmium tetroxide.
- Radioisotopes. The radionuclide ruthenium is a fission product from nuclear fuel cycles and atmospheric testing. Exposure to this radioactive form increases cancer risk due to radiation. I’ll talk more about this when I talk about ruthenium’s radioactive properties.
Is Ruthenium Toxicity the Same as Ruthenium Allergies?
No, ruthenium toxicity and ruthenium allergies aren’t the same thing. They’re completely different.
Ruthenium allergies stem from this metal touching the skin and they arise in people sensitive to ruthenium and usually the other metals in the PGM group (platinum metal group).
Common symptoms of a ruthenium allergy are skin irritation, redness, itching, or rashes when the metal touches your skin. The point is that ruthenium allergy manifests on the skin and doesn’t cause symptoms in the rest of the body.
Ruthenium toxicity via inhaling ruthenium tetroxide manifests as severe problems with the lungs, coughing, sneezing and potentially even respiratory failure.
Also, most people aren’t allergic to ruthenium, but everyone can be poisoned by ruthenium tetroxide.
Is Ruthenium Jewelry Toxic and Dangerous to Humans or Not?
No, ruthenium jewelry isn’t toxic and dangerous to humans. Instead, it’s 100% safe to wear over an extended time period (for the lifetime of the jewelry).
Ruthenium jewelry is made from solid ruthenium, a chemically inert precious metal that can’t poison humans.
The worse you can get is a rash from a piece of ruthenium jewelry, but being allergic to ruthenium is different than being poisoned by it.
For example, there’s a new type of vermeil called black ruthenium vermeil. It’s made from a base of sterling silver and coating made of black ruthenium.
This type of jewelry would be perfectly safe and non-toxic to the person who wears it.
Note: solid ruthenium is so chemically inert and non-toxic to the body that you could eat a piece of ruthenium jewelry and nothing bad would happen to you. The jewelry would simply pass through your digestive system and come out good as new.
I don’t recommend you ingest ruthenium though. However, if it happens to your pet or some other animal, then you know they’ll be fine as long as that jewelry piece doesn’t get stuck somewhere in the digestve tract.
Is Ruthenium Bullion Toxic to Humans Or Not?
No, ruthenium bullion isn’t toxic to humans because it’s made from solid ruthenium, a chemically inert form of this precious metal.
This means it’s 100% safe to touch and handle ruthenium coins and bars, provided you’re not allergic to ruthenium of course.
Is Ruthenium Radioactive? Is it Dangerous to Humans?
No, ruthenium isn’t radioactive. It’s a safe precious metal (consisting of seven stable isotopes.) used across various industries to great results.
However, some ruthenium forms are radioactive and unsafe to handle without proper equipment.
Good example are:
- Ruthenium-106. a radioactive isotope with a half-life of about 373.59 days. It has been detected in the atmosphere following accidents at nuclear facilities and is also used in brachytherapy for certain cancers.
- Ruthenium-103. another radioactive isotope with a half-life of 39.26 days.
- Ruthenium-97. This isotope has a half-life of about 2.9 days and is primarily used in medical imaging due to its favorable gamma energy emissions.
These radioactive ruthenium isotopes have both medical applications and are considered a “troublesome nuclide” in nuclear waste processing due to their radioactivity.
Note: radioactive ruthenium isotopes exist either in a tightly controlled environment far from the general population, or are released during nuclear accidents (so extremely rarely).
For example, in 2017 there’s was a covered up nuclear accident in Russia that released a cloud of radioactive ruthenium isotopes into the atmosphere. This ruthenium didn’t hurt anyone and gradually dispersed into the atmosphere.
Bottom line is that you shouldn’t worry about this and any solid ruthenium, whether in jewelry of bullion form is going to be 100% safe, non-toxic non-radioactive.
You have nothing to worry about.
Is Ruthenium Toxic and Dangerous to Humans, Yes or No? Is it Radioactive? Can Osmium Jewelry and Bullion Cause Body Harm and Toxicity? Conclusion
Solid ruthenium metal is completely safe and non-toxic for humans, making it ideal for jewelry and bullion applications.
This noble metal is chemically inert and can be handled without risk, though some individuals may experience allergic skin reactions that differ from actual toxicity.
However, certain ruthenium forms are extremely dangerous.
Ruthenium tetroxide, a golden-yellow compound found in laboratories, is highly toxic when inhaled, causing severe respiratory tract irritation, eye damage, and potentially fatal respiratory failure. Radioactive ruthenium isotopes, including Ruthenium-106 (373-day half-life) and Ruthenium-103 (39-day half-life), exist in nuclear facilities and can be released during accidents, significantly increasing cancer risk through radiation exposure.
Despite these hazardous forms, standard ruthenium products contain seven stable, non-radioactive isotopes and pose no heath risk.
The dangerous compounds are confined to controlled laboratory and nuclear environments, ensuring the general population remains unexposed during normal circumstances.
References:
- Ruthenium Tetroxide- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthenium_tetroxide
- Black Ruthenium Vermeil- https://www.explorerealm.com/collections/sterling-silver-black-ruthenium
- Isotopes of ruthenium- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_ruthenium
- A massive atmospheric release of radioactive ruthenium in 2017 was likely caused by an undeclared nuclear accident at the Mayak Production Association in southern Russia according to a comprehensive analysis of European radionuclide monitoring data.- https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/cjn3v2/a_massive_atmospheric_release_of_radioactive/
Nikola Roza
Nikola Roza is a blogger behind Nikola Roza- SEO for the Poor and Determined. He writes for bloggers who don't have huge marketing budget but still want to succeed. Nikola is passionate about precious metals IRAs and how to invest in gold and silver for a safer financial future. Learn about Nikola here.
