Applications
Lutetium is very expensive to obtain on useful quantities and therefore it has
very few commercial uses. One commercial application has been as a pure beta
emitter, using Lutetium which has been exposed to neutron activation. A tiny
amount of Lutetium is added as a dopant to Gadolinium gallim garnet (GGG), which
is used in magnetic bubble memory devices.
Lutetium in the environment
It is a rare earth metal and perhaps the most expensive of all rare elements. It
is found in small amounts with all rare earth metals, and is very difficult to
separate from other rare elements. This is largely because of the way it is
found in nature. The lanthanides are found in nature in a number of minerals.
The most important are xenotime, monazite, and bastnaesite. The first two are
orthophosphate minerals LnPO4 (Ln denotes a mixture of all the lanthanides
except Promethium which is very rare) and the third is a fluoride Carbonate
LnCO3F. The most common lanthanides in these minerals are, in order, Cerium,
Lanthanum, Neodymium, and Praseodymium. Monazite also contains Thorium and
Yttrium, which makes handling difficult since Thorium, and its decomposition
products are radioactive.
The main mining areas are China, US, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia.
Total world reserves are estimated to be around 200.000 tonnes. World production
on Lutetium is around 10 tonnes per year, as Lutetium oxide.
Health effects of Lutetium
Lutetium is mildly toxic by ingestion, but its insoluble salts are non-toxic.
Like other rare-earth metals Lutetium is regarded as having a low toxicity
rating but it and its compounds should be handled with care.
Environmental effects of Lutetium
Metal dust of Lutetium is a fire and explosion hazard. Lutetium poses no
Environmental threat to plants and animals.
