CHROMIUM. 
§§ 924-926.] 
717 
red ” is formed ; it lias the composition Cr0 3 2Pb0. Neutral lead 
chromate is insoluble in acids, but may be dissolved by potassic or sodic 
hydrates. 
§ 924. Use in the Arts. —Potassic bichromate is extensively used in 
the arts—in dyeing, calico-printing, the manufacture of porcelain, and in 
photography ; the neutral chromate has been employed to a small extent 
as a medicine, and is a common laboratory reagent ; lead chromate is a 
valuable pigment. 
§ 925. Effects of some of the Chromium Compounds on Animal 
Life. —In the chromates of potash there is a combination of two poison¬ 
ous metals, so that it is not surprising that Gmelin found the chloride 
of chromium, CrCl 3 , less active than the neutral chromate of potash : 
1*9 grm. of the last, administered to a rabbit by the stomach, caused 
death within two hours, while 3 grins, of chromous chloride had 110 
action. Subcutaneous doses of -2 to *4 grm. of neutral chromate (accord¬ 
ing to the experiments of E. Gergens 1 and Carl Posner 2 ) act with great 
intensity on rabbits. Immediately after the injection the animals are 
restless, and show marked dyspnoea ; death often takes place within a 
few hours. 
Diarrhoea does not seem, as a rule, to follow when the salt is admin¬ 
istered by subcutaneous injection to animals ; but Gmelin’s rabbits had 
considerable diarrhoea when 1-9 grm. was introduced into the stomach. 
The same quantity, injected beneath the skin of a dog, caused loss of 
appetite, and, after six days, there was a dry exanthem on the back, and 
the hair fell off in patches ; there was, however, neither diarrhoea nor. 
vomiting. Bichromate of potash causes (according to the researches of 
Pelikan) 3 symptoms similar to those produced by arsenic or corrosive 
sublimate ; it acts as a powerful irritant of the stomach and intestinal 
canal, and may even cause inflammation ; 011 its absorption a series of 
symptoms are produced, of which the most prominent are albuminuria, 
bloody urine, and emaciation. From -06 to -36 grm. (1-5| grains) is 
fatal to rabbits and dogs. 
§ 926. Effects of some of the Chromium Salts on Man—Bichro¬ 
mate Disease. —In manufacturing potassic bichromate, the workmen 
exposed to the dust have suffered from a very peculiar train of symptoms, 
known under the name of “ bichromate disease.” It was first described 
in England by Sir B. W. Richardson. 4 It appears that, if the workmen 
inspire the particles chiefly through the mouth, a bitter and disagreeable 
taste is experienced, with an increase of saliva. This increase of the 
buccal secretion gets rid of most of the poison, and in that case but little 
1 Arch. f. experiment. Pathol, u. Pharmakol., Bd. vi. Hft. 1 and 2, § 148, 1875. 
2 Virchow’s Archiv f. path. Anat., Bd. lxxix. Hft. 2, § 333, 1880. 
3 Beitrdge zur gerichtl. Medicin, Toxikol. u. PharmaJcodynamik, Wurzburg, 1858. 
4 Brit, and For. Med. Chining. Review, Oct. 1863. Sec also a paper by the same 
writer, read before the Medical Society, reported in the Lancet, March 11, 1882. 
