ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a detailed discussion on the occurrence and production, uses, chemical and physical properties, exposure and exposure limits, toxicokinetics, and effects of silver in humans. Major uses for silver include electroplated ware, sterling ware, photographic materials, brazing alloys and solder, and electrical contacts and conductors. The use of silver in the oligodynamic purification of drinking and bottling waters and of swimming pools has undergone a renascence in the United States in the last decade. The major problem in humans arising from over exposure to silver is called argyria. Generalized argyria is characterized by a slate blue-gray coloration of the skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs. A few drops of silver nitrate are applied to the conjunctiva of newborn infants to prevent ophthalmia neonatorium due to gonorrhea transmitted from the mother. The effects of silver in humans include information on acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, biochemistry, specific organs and systems, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity.
