Inorganic reactions
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Hello, I am a bit confused about the use of barium sulphate in the human body because I know that barium compounds are poisonous. How is this possible and how do I design and experiment to show this?
Corrie writes ....
Soluble barium compounds are very poisonous. However, barium sulphate is extremely insoluble, so you can be fed a 'barium meal' of barium sulphate to make the outline of your stomach and intestines visible on an X-ray (barium absorbs X-rays well)!
You could show the insolubility of barium sulphate by mixing a solution of a soluble barium salt (e.g. chloride or nitrate - REMEMBER barium salts are poisonous)) with a solution of a soluble sulphate or dilute sulphuric acid. A white precipitate of barium sulphate will be formed. This is used as a test for the presence of a sulphate - but see below.
Barium carbonate is also insoluble but would dissolve in dilute nitric acid, so you can tell BaCO3 and BaSO4 apart in this way.
Always carry out a risk assessment and check with your teacher before starting any practical work.
Risk assessment
Before attempting any practical work based on the advice and suggestions on this website, you must do the following. Identify any hazards, assess the risks from these hazards, and then decide appropriate control measures to reduce the risks. You must have these approved by those in authority in your school or college laboratory. Do not rely on what is said on this website.
For further guidance see our tutorial on Risk Assessment.
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updated: 17 April 2007
