Aluminum

[[File:A selection of aluminium pots and kettles are put into the smelter at a workshop somewhere in Britain during a salvage drive in 1940. D734.jpg|thumb|right|225px|[[British]] workers melt down aluminum pots and kettles during [[WWII]].]]
{{cquote|Give us anti-aircraft guns and aluminum and we can fight for three or four years.|||[[Joseph Stalin]] to US diplomat Harry L. Hopkins, July 1941.<ref>[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1941v01/d751 Memorandum by Mr. Harry L. Hopkins, Personal Representative of President Roosevelt]. US State Department Office of the Historian.</ref>}}
{{Chemistry}}
'''Alumin(i)um''' is the most abundant metal and third-most common [[element]] in the [[Earth]]’s crust after [[oxygen]] and silicon.<ref group=note>Despite this, [https://www.clintonaluminum.com/aluminum-was-once-worth-more-than-gold-and-silver/ it was once considered to be rarer than] [[gold]].</ref> It has no known biological function; however, it is a contaminant present in most foods and medications.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997813/pdf/nihms809489.pdf Systematic review of potential health risks posed by pharmaceutical, occupational and consumer exposures to metallic and nanoscale aluminum, aluminum oxides, aluminum hydroxide and its soluble salts] by Calvin C. Willhite, Nataliya A. Karyakina, Robert A. Yokel, Nagarajkumar Yenugadhati, Thomas M. Wisniewski, Ian M. F. Arnold, Franco Momoli and Daniel Krewski.<i> Crit Rev Toxicol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 25.</i></ref><ref group=note>
*[https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum 7,000 micrograms (millionth of a gram) from breast milk during the first 6 months of life]
*[https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum 38,000 micrograms from formula during the first 6 months of life]
*[https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum 117,000 micrograms from soy formula during the first 6 months of life]
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22001122 15,000 micrograms per slice of bread]
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22001122 50,000 micrograms per slice of processed cheese]
*[https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=1076&tid=34 1,900 to 11,000 micrograms ingested per day, per adult]
</ref><ref>[https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2013/em/c3em00374d Human exposure to aluminium] by Christopher Exley in Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013,15,1807, doi:10.1039/c3em00374d</ref> In addition, aluminum will become as fragile as wet paper when you pour gallium onto it and then scratch up its surface.
Aluminum is excreted by the renal system.<ref group=note>So patients with renal diseases should avoid aluminum-containing medications.</ref> Despite this, aluminum has a reputation for freaking out the [[anti-vaccination movement]], especially after mercury-based [[thiomersal]] was removed from most vaccines.

==Toxicosis==
For the majority of us, the aluminum that gets into our bodies does so through ingestion and it is just passing through. It mostly leaves the body in the urine and the feces. However, we also absorb a few aluminum ions via the intestines. In those with kidney disease, aluminum in the blood doesn’t get as rapidly excreted and so this group needs to be aware of their intake of aluminum and other things.

In 2007, researchers spelled out some important points. In humans, more than 95% of aluminum is removed by the kidneys into the urine and another 2% leaves us via bile entering the gut from the gall bladder.<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18085482/Krewski Human health risk assessment for aluminium, aluminium oxide, and aluminium hydroxide]by D, Yokel RA, Nieboer E, et al. [published correction appears in J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2008 Feb;11(2):147]. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2007;10 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):1-269. doi:10.1080/10937400701597766</ref> Aluminum is not used by the body. Any aluminum absorbed from any source is gradually eliminated through the kidneys.

Babies are born with aluminum already present in their bodies, probably from the mother’s blood. Over time, small amounts of the aluminum from food, drink and other sources do accumulate in the body, but this is not believed to pose a significant risk to health.<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15152306/ The biological behaviour and bioavailability of aluminium in man, with special reference to studies employing aluminium-26 as a tracer: review and study update] by Priest ND. J Environ Monit. 2004;6(5):375-403. doi:10.1039/b314329p</ref>

==Alleged toxicity in vaccines==
===Usage===
Aluminum is one of the most effective adjuvants used in vaccinations. For vaccination, the daily quantity of aluminum absorbed by a vaccinated newborn infant is 10 times smaller than the [[FDA]] (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)’s threshold for neurotoxicity.<ref>[https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ECFR?page=browse Electronic Code of Federal Regulations]</ref><ref>[https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=201.323 CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21]</ref>

===Criticism===
For antivaxxers, aluminum is the new [[mercury]].

Because it has been suggested that aluminum could be linked to certain neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease<ref>[https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/aluminum-and-alzheimers/ Aluminum and Alzheimers] by Steven Novella</ref><ref>Lidsky TI. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4131942/ Is the Aluminum Hypothesis dead?]. J Occup Environ Med. 2014;56(5 Suppl):S73-S79. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000063</ref> and [[autism]], anti-vaccinationists maintain that injected aluminum rapidly enters the bloodstream and thereby accumulates in the [[brain]], causing neurological damage – reminiscent of [[Andrew Wakefield]]'s fraudulent claim about autism. There are several scientific [[fallacy|fallacies]] underlying this assertion, however.

The first fallacy is that injected aluminum finds its way into the body more rapidly than ingested aluminum. In fact, most of the aluminum adjuvant in a vaccine remains near the injection site for a long period and is only absorbed slowly into the bloodstream (vaccines are given intramuscularly), at approximately the same daily rate as ingested aluminum. Even though the amount of ingested aluminum is much larger, most of that is absorbed in the intestines and only released slowly into the blood.<ref>[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0773.2001.880401.x Aluminium toxicokinetics: an updated minireview.] by Yokel RA, McNamara PJ. in Pharmacol Toxicol. 2001;88(4):159-167. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0773.2001.d01-98.x</ref> Less than 1% of aluminium in vaccines is actually absorbed by the body. The same is true of the aluminum found in our food supply, in drinking water and even in the air we breathe, as well as the breast milk or infant formula ingested by babies.<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9302736/ In vivo absorption of aluminium-containing vaccine adjuvants using 26Al] by Flarend RE, Hem SL, White JL, et al. Vaccine. 1997;15(12-13):1314-1318. doi:10.1016/s0264-410x(97)00041-8</ref>

Another fallacy involves confusing pure aluminum with aluminum salts. Aluminum is never directly injected into the body. Instead, Aluminum salts like aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, and potassium aluminum sulfate (alum) are used,<ref>[https://twitter.com/voices4vaccines/status/1025082147529547778 Tweet]</ref> which are poorly absorbed as the aluminum bonds in vaccine adjuvants are strong and hence does not break down into aluminum ions easily and hence do not matter if ingested or injected. In healthy subjects, less than 0.3% of aluminum that one eats is absorbed via the GI tract and the kidneys effectively eliminate aluminum from the body.<ref>Krewski, Daniel et al. “[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2782734/ Human health risk assessment for aluminium, aluminium oxide, and aluminium hydroxide.]” Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews vol. 10 Suppl 1,Suppl 1 (2007): 1-269. doi:10.1080/10937400701597766</ref> Intravenous infusion of products containing aluminum (i.e. injection directly into the bloodstream via a drip connected to a vein, as with intravenous nutrition pouches for patients in a hospital) or renal dysfunction are the only real scenarios where aluminum has the potential to accumulate.<ref>[https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview Aluminum Toxicity] by Jose F Bernardo, MD, MPH, FASN; Chief Editor: Sage W Wiener, MD et al.</ref> Once aluminum is in the bloodstream, it is processed similarly regardless of the source.<ref>[http://vec.chop.edu/export/download/pdfs/articles/vaccine-education-center/aluminum.pdf About 50% of the aluminium in the bloodstream is eliminated in less than 24 hours, more than 75% is eliminated within two weeks]</ref>

The third fallacy involves the neurotoxicity of aluminum in the [[brain]]. Although aluminum and other chemicals can enter the brain from the bloodstream, they first have to penetrate a protective semipermeable membrane that separates flowing blood from brain tissue, known as the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier normally keeps circulating pathogens and [[toxin]]s from getting into the brain, while allowing the passage of [[water]], nutrients and hormones. If not, you would [[death|die]] if you drank [[milk]], which contains a minuscule amount of aluminum.<ref>[https://scientistabe.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/sciencesjunk-sciencesbbb-aluminum-adjuvants-in-vaccines-and-the-blood-brain-barrier-removing-the-facts-from-the-fiction-the-good-science-from-the-junk-science/ Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines and the blood-brain barrier. Removing the facts from the fiction, the good science from the junk science.]</ref>

No adverse reactions were observed when mice were fed quantities of aluminum as high as 62 mg/kg/day.<ref> Golub MS, Donald JM, Gershwin ME, Keen CL. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2755419/ Effects of aluminum ingestion on spontaneous motor activity of mice.] Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1989 May-Jun;11(3):231-5. doi: 10.1016/0892-0362(89)90064-0. Erratum in: Neurotoxicol Teratol 1999 May-Jun;21(3):303. PMID: 2755419.</ref> The ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) concluded that the minimum risk level for exposure to aluminum was 2 mg/kg/day. The half-life of elimination of aluminum from the body is approximately 24 hours.<ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X02001652]</ref> Therefore, the burden of aluminum to which infants are exposed in food and vaccines<ref>[https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/6/1394#T3 Table]</ref><ref>[https://antiantivax.flurf.net/#Other_Vaccine_Additives Table]</ref> is clearly less than the guideline established by the ATSDR and far less than that found to be safe in experimental animals.<ref>[L.S. Keith, D.E. Jones, C.-H.S.J. Chou, [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X02001652 Aluminum toxicokinetics regarding infant diet and vaccinations], Vaccine, Volume 20, Supplement 3, 2002, Pages S13-S17, ISSN 0264-410X, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00165-2.</ref>

==Toxicity in deodorants==
Deodorants have aluminum which is used as an active ingredient to remove body odors. The risk of [[cancer]] due to aluminum-based deodorants is still under review by scientists as only a few studies have investigated a possible relationship between [[breast]] cancer and deodorants, but according to the NIH, "no studies to date have confirmed any substantial adverse effects of aluminum that could contribute to increased breast cancer risks. A 2014 review concluded there was no clear evidence showing that the use of aluminum-containing underarm antiperspirants or cosmetics increases the risk of breast cancer."<ref>[https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/myths/antiperspirants-fact-sheet Antiperspirants/Deodorants and Breast Cancer]</ref> The American Cancer Society states that "At this point, there is no clear link between antiperspirants containing aluminum and breast cancer."<ref>[https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/antiperspirants-and-breast-cancer-risk.html ]</ref>

==Chemtrails==
{{main|Chemtrails}}
Many proponents of the chemtrails [[conspiracy theory]] believe that the government is spraying aluminum into the air along with other elements like barium and strontium, and that this is done to stop [[global warming]], for population control ([[genocide conspiracy]]), etc. and is causing diseases like Alzheimer's.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/22/california-conspiracy-theorist-farmers-chemtrails My month with chemtrails conspiracy theorists], Carey Dunne, ''The Guardian'' 22 May 2017</ref> Of course, this is all bunk. Airplane contrails (not chemtrails) are primarily made of [[water]] vapor frozen to particles like soot, aerosols, [[carbon]] dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and yes, sometimes particles of metal,<ref>[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-jets-leave-a-white/ Why do jets leave a white trail in the sky?], Jenn Stroud Rossmann, ''Scientific American'' 19 November 2001</ref> but there is no evidence that they contain a significant amount of aluminum or that airplanes have been used to spray toxic chemicals on the population, and a 2014 study showed neither an increase in aluminum levels by elevation nor dangerous levels of aluminum at any elevation, which you'd expect to happen if the chemtrails "theory" was true.<ref>[https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/documents/ChemtrailsFact%20Sheet_062514.pdf Contrails vs. Chemtrails – Fact Sheet], ''Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation'', July 2014</ref>

==See also==
*[[Aluminum foil hat]]
*[[Aluminum Wedge of Aiud]]
*[[Chemophobia]]
*[[Vaccine hysteria]]

==External links==
*[https://www.harpocratesspeaks.com/2015/02/demystifying-vaccine-ingredients-aluminum.html Demystifying Vaccine Ingredients - Aluminum] — Harpocrates Speaks
*[https://virologydownunder.com/aluminium-and-you/ Aluminium and you] — Virology Down Under
*[https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/tag/aluminum/ Aluminum in vaccines] — Sceptical Raptor
*[https://respectfulinsolence.com/tag/aluminum/ Aluminum in vaccines] — [[Orac]]
*[https://scientistabe.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/sciencesjunk-sciencesbbb-aluminum-adjuvants-in-vaccines-and-the-blood-brain-barrier-removing-the-facts-from-the-fiction-the-good-science-from-the-junk-science/ Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines and the blood-brain barrier. Removing the facts from the fiction, the good science from the junk science.] — The Blood-Barrier Scientist
*[https://scientistabe.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/sciences-junk-sciences-lets-talk-about-ashley-everly-and-her-vaccine-guide-binder-full-of-a-focus-review-on-the-ingredients-section/ Let’s talk about Ashley Everly and her “Vaccine Guide” binder full of…A focus review on the “Ingredients” section.] — The Blood-Barrier Scientist.
*[https://thoughtscapism.com/2015/04/27/aluminum-in-perspective/ Aluminum in Perspective] — Thoughtscapism
*[https://www.scienceunderattack.com/blog/2018/10/22/no-evidence-that-aluminum-in-vaccines-is-harmful-5 No Evidence That Aluminum in Vaccines Is Harmful] — Science Under Attack
*[https://www.obgproject.com/2017/10/03/aluminum-vaccine-safety-evidence/ Aluminum and Vaccines – The Evidence for Continuing Safety] — ObG Project
*[https://vaxopedia.org/2016/09/02/aluminum-in-vaccines/ Aluminum in Vaccines] — Vaxopedia

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Anti-vaccination movement]]
[[Category:Chemicals]]
[[Category:Elements]]

Categories: Anti-vaccination movement, Chemicals, Elements