Lithium
-It's
Carolina's
Cinderella
Product
Lithium is a most uncomplicated substance No. 3 on the periodic table of elements, only hydrogen (with
a single electron circling its nucleus) and helium are lighter.
Tin* u or Id's srcoiiil rieli-
i*sl sourer of I liis versa! ilr
uiolal is hero in western
\orlh Carolina
fit/ ItOltllfl i.. Nil l l \>IS
While Many Robbins and J. R. Ew¬
ing of Dallas have nothing to do with it.
it is a fact that HI Paso has one of the
most cheerful and tranquil populations
in Texas, while Dallas has one of the
most troubled. For instance. HI Paso
has only one-seventh of the mental
hospital admissions that Dallas has.
Why? The apparent answer may be
that HI Past» water has a very high
lithium content, while Dallas water is
among the lowest in the state in lithium
content.
A large portion of the North Carolina
population may be totally uninformed
about lithium, but it is a safe bet that
anyone in the state who is not affected
by lithium is either a hermit or dead. It
has been a long time in arriving, but
lithium is now considered by many to
be the wonder product of modern times.
Actually, lithium is not a new prod¬
uct: only our acceptance of it is rela¬
tively new. In the lllth century Greek
physician Caelius Aurelanus insisted
that the natural waters of alkaline
springs could be used tor effective treat¬
ment of mental illnesses.
Lithium, for those who have not met
this unique product on a first-name ba¬
sis. is an alkali metal found in all con¬
tinents. With an atomic number of 3.
lithium is the first member of Group la
of the Periodic Sy stem, which includes
sodium, potassium, and rubidium. It is
the lightest of all solid elements and has
the smallest ionic radius, the highest
ionization potential, electronegativity,
and heal capacity. It is also, in its
elementary stale, the least reactive of
the alkali metals.
i6
Amazing Versatility
But what does all this mean to
Carolinians and. more generally, to the
world?
It means that every day «if your life
and in dozens of ways you come into
contact with lithium.
Your refrigerator, washing machine,
dryer, and kitchen range, as a result of
lithium's versatility, can be made of
thinner gauge steel and not warp, and
the enamel coat of these products is not
as likely to chip.
Your ceramic pr«>ducts. including the
llat-top cooking range, are made pos¬
sible by lithium. Lithium is present in
cooking-ware, many eyeglass lenses,
automobile scaled-beam headlights,
tubes for many television sets, grease
tor all kinds of machinery, liquid dyes,
in space program and under-sea pro¬
gram products, and for many air-
conditioning systems. Lithium is used
to lower humidity in special environ¬
ments. such as cookie bakeries, candy
manufacturing areas, and pharmaceu¬
tical companies.
The family swimming pool probably
is chlorinated by use of a lithium-based
product, and a lithium bleach is used in
hospitals, prisons, and colleges and
universities. In breweries, dairies, and
food and meat processing plants lithium
is used in sanitizing products.
One of the most popular uses of the
amazing metal is in batteries for flash¬
lights. watches, pacemakers, and elec¬
tronic equipment. Lithium is present in
many paints, inks, adhesives, plastic
moulding, polyester fibers, oven
cleaners, synthetic diamonds, and liter¬
ally in thousands of other products, in¬
cluding cosmetics.
Treatment of Illness
Some of the greatest results in treat¬
ments
«>1
illnesses have been accom¬
plished through lithium. Tranquilizers,
salves for such diseases as herpes, and
medication of manic depressives are
produced as a result of the versatility of
lithium.
This Cinderella metal is found in
several areas of the world, but the most
economic and therefore valuable
lithium mineral is spodumcne. which is
found in its greatest abundance in the
tin-spodumene belt «if North Carolina
which extends in a line from Lincoln-
t«>n to Bessemer City, where resources
are estimated in excess of 2.252.000
metric tons, compared with the
4.757.000 metric tons found in Zaire,
the only richer source in the world.
Lithium was originally used as treat¬
ment against kidney stones, gout, rheu¬
matism. and similar ailments, but it was
f«>und n«»t to be effective and. in some
cases. dangor«>us. Then it found a use
as a salt substitute, where it was again
harmful t«) some users.
The great medical breakthrough
came in 1949 (ironically, when the FDA
ordered all lithium stock removed from
shelves) when Dr. John Cade in Aus¬
tralia f«>und that lithium administered to
guinea pigs caused a marked improve¬
ment in calming the animals without in¬
terfering with their normal b«)dy
retlexes.
Cade then used lithium in treatment
of patients, and as early as the fifth day
of treatment remarkable improvement
was observed. N«>w. hundreds of thou¬
sands «>f manic depressives are able to
enjoy productive careers, normal home
lives, and in general a stability and hap¬
piness prcvi«>usly unheard of. In fact,
prior to the use of lithium major treat¬
ments included lobotoniics and shock
treatment.
Another Use Investigated
Now. as incredible as it may seem,
still another major use of the metal is
THE STATE. APRIL 1987
