# Can iron be toxic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067 "2005-09-04T17:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/1 "2005-09-04T17:55:01Z")
If a person consumes a small but significant amount of iron, preferably in salt form like ferrous chloride, would bad things happen? I’ll admit what made me think of this. I’ve been playing around with hydrochloric acid and I dropped in some steel BB’s, which eventually left behind mostly ferrous chloride. I’m curious what it tastes like, but at the same time I don’t want to die. Is it safe if consumed in about the same quantities as sodium chloride? I know the body needs small amounts of iron, but I’m not sure if it can dispose of excess properly. ---
**Author:** ![inkubo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@inkubo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkubo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/2 "2005-09-04T17:58:20Z")
Google is your friend. [http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2835.htm](http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2835.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/3 "2005-09-04T18:00:05Z")
[Ferrous chloride MSDS](http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1754.html). Seems to be a mild skin irritant and “harmful if swallowed”. I doubt if a pinch on the tongue will kill you, but you might not enjoy the sensation. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/4 "2005-09-04T18:05:47Z")
You are indeed correct bad things happen when you can’t dispose of excess iron. You can die from an overdose of the simple iron tablets available from your local pharmacy. The condition haemochromatosis (hemochromotosis in the USA) is when a person has a genetic ability to absorb more iron than normal from the diet, but is unable to properly get rid of it. Bad things happen if left untreated, and it’s one of the few disease we still treat by blood-letting. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/5 "2005-09-04T18:19:45Z")
> [@inkubo](#): > > Google is your friend. > > [Pediatric Iron Toxicity: Practice Essentials, Pathophysiology, Etiology](http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2835.htm) > [@](#): > > Toxic doses of elemental iron range from 20 mg/kg to more than 60 mg/kg. Since I weigh around 90 kg, this suggests that I would have to consume at least 1.8 grams of iron, or 4.1 grams of ferrous chloride, just to get a little sick. I don’t have a scale that measures that precisely, but that seems like well over a pinch. I guess my biggest concern is that it won’t taste good then. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/6 "2005-09-04T18:25:45Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > If a person consumes a small but significant amount of iron, preferably in salt form like ferrous chloride, would bad things happen? I’ll admit what made me think of this. I’ve been playing around with hydrochloric acid and I dropped in some steel BB’s, which eventually left behind mostly ferrous chloride. I’m curious what it tastes like, but at the same time I don’t want to die. Is it safe if consumed in about the same quantities as sodium chloride? I know the body needs small amounts of iron, but I’m not sure if it can dispose of excess properly. Odds are unless you actually try to OD on iron, you’ll be OK. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/7 "2005-09-04T18:32:32Z")
Actually, I missed in **Q.E.D.**'s link that it’s a tetrahydrate (I think that’s what it says, the symbols look unusual in Mozilla/FreeBSD), so I would have to consume 6.3 grams of ferrous chloride. That’s even better. I’ll try to avoid turning the bottle up. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/8 "2005-09-04T18:37:58Z")
Yes, it’s a tetrahydrate. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/9 "2005-09-05T13:04:06Z")
> [@](#): > > “Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.” Philipus Aureolus Paracelsus, many many years ago. So yes it can be toxic, but my worry would be that you are not talking about Iron, unless you are planning to eat some filings. Ask yourself “can ferrous chloride be toxic?” and "How MUCH ferrous chloride can be toxic?"you’re on a better line of investigation. From \*\*Q.E.D.\*\*s link: > [@](#): > > **Harmful if swallowed**. May cause irritation. Avoid breathing vapors, or dusts. Use with adequate ventilation. Avoid contact with eyes, skin, and clothes. Wash thoroughly after handling. Keep container closed. > [@](#): > > Mid irritant. If comes in contact with skin wash with soap and water. If comes in contact with eyes get medicla attention. If inhaled move to fresh air , and get medical attention. **If ingested get medical assistance**.No target organs. Persons with pre-existing disorders may be more susceptible. So no indication that a tiny bit will do you any serious harm, but I wouldn’t try it without letting someone else have a go first. Let me know how you get on 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-iron-be-toxic/320067/10 "2005-09-05T13:36:02Z")
I know when I was a wee’un, I took one of my uncle’s Centrum multivitamins because it said that people under a certain age shouldn’t take it due to the amount of iron in it. “Hah,” I said to the warning. I was sicker than a dog next day. Throwing up everywhere.