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2.3.1.1: All about phosphorous

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    188943
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    1. Phosphorous (P) is interesting! Here are some questions related to phosphorous in the human body, based on the following information I found on Wikipedia:
      1. An average adult human contains about 0.7 kg of phosphorus, about 90% in bones and teeth in the form of apatite, and the remainder in soft tissues and extracellular fluids (~1%). The phosphorus content increases from about 0.5 weight% in infancy to 0.65–1.1 weight% in adults. Average phosphorus concentration in the blood is about 0.4 g/L, about 70% of that is organic and 30% inorganic phosphates. An adult with healthy diet consumes and excretes about 1–3 grams of phosphorus per day, with consumption in the form of inorganic phosphate and phosphorus-containing biomolecules such as nucleic acids and phospholipids; and excretion almost exclusively in the form of phosphate ions.
      2. How many atoms of phosphorous are in the bones and teeth of an average adult?
      3. Given a typical volume of blood is 5 L, how many atoms of phosphorous are present in the blood stream in the form of inorganic phosphates?
    2. Phosphorous is essential for healthy body function, but too much is poisonous. "Phossy jaw" is a horrible bone necrosis in the jaw that resulted when people breathed in gaseous phosphorous. It was prevalent in matchstick factory workers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s until the match making process started to use red phosphorous rather than white phosphorous (shown in the graphic above). The dangerous white phosphorous contains 4 P atoms chemically bound together. Red phosphorous contains many more P atoms in a chain and therefore is not as easily turned into breathable gas. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) currently sets an inhalation exposure limit for white phosphorus in the workplace during an 8-hour workday at 0.1 milligram per cubic meter of air (mg/m3). Matchstick factory workers who got phossy jaw would typically contract this illness after working ~13 hours/day, 7 days/week (the weekend was not implemented in the US until later in the 1900’s!), for 5 years (say 260 weeks).
      1. How many hours were workers exposed to phosphorous before getting sick?
      2. If these workers breath in 35 L of air per hour and worked in a factory that followed OSHA guidelines, how many moles of phosphorous would they breath over this five year period? Note that 1 m3 = 1000 L.
      3. Assuming that matchstick workers were exposed to 100x greater levels than those required by OSHA, how many more atoms of phosphorous would they breath over that 5 year period compared to workers in an OSHA-approved factory?

    2.3.1.1: All about phosphorous is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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