Summary: International Symposium on the Health Effects of Boron and its Compounds.

Abstract

This symposium had two chairmen because of its wide-ranging concern with health, covering issues of boron reproductive toxicity at one extreme and boron essentiality at the other. Dr. Ernest Mastromatteo was asked to summarize the issues presented by the speakers, with a special focus on human effects. Dr. Frank Sullivan was asked to summarize the presentations with a special focus on implications for future research. Summary of IssuesMany of you have seen me worriedly writing in the corner, sometimes furiously, trying to get down all the very important points that the conference speakers were making. It is now my task to try to sum up this conference and to give you my idea of the implications for human health on the basis of the latest information presented here. There was a wide range of papers, including the chemical and physical properties of the element and its compounds; their uses; the various methods for the analysis of boron in plants, animals, and humans, as well as in air, water and soil; the biochemical and pharmacological effects of boron in plants, animals, and humans; the effects of dietary boron in experimental animals; the effects of boron in human nutrition and human physiology; the toxicology of boric acid and borax, including developmental and reproductive toxicity; and the assessment of health effects among workers exposed to boric acid and borates in their

Determination of Boron Contents in Water Samples Collected from the Neelum valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

“…The reported boron concentration in Table 2). For instance, as may be seen in Table 2, in the USA, boron concentrations in the surface water are reported to range from 0.3 to 15 mg/l [25]. A survey of 100 US drinking water supplies has reported a median boron concentration of 0.03 mg/l [25].…”

“…For instance, as may be seen in Table 2, in the USA, boron concentrations in the surface water are reported to range from 0.3 to 15 mg/l [25]. A survey of 100 US drinking water supplies has reported a median boron concentration of 0.03 mg/l [25]. Median concentrations of boron in surface water were well below 0.5 mg/l for more than 90% of locations in the National Water Quality Data Bank with provincial median values ranging from 0.01 mg/l for British Columbia to 0.15 mg/l for Manitoba and Saskatchewan [26].…”

Ceramic Manufacturing Processes

“…The formulation of lead-free frits has involved replacing lead with other vigorous fluxes, in particular, boron (42). Recently, however, studies have shown that boron compounds can be toxic for reproduction (43), so that the coming years will foreseeably witness the implementation of measures to control the risks associated with the use of boron.…”

Boron removal and recovery from concentrated wastewater using a microwave hydrothermal method

“…Boric acid, B(OH) 3 , and borate ions, B(OH) 4 − , are common constituents in sea water. Fractionation of these two species is pH-dependent [2]: …”

“…Boron is also an essential trace nutrient for human, animals and plants [3,4]. However, elevated levels of boron may be harmful and fatal [5,6].…”