Manganese
13-12-2024
10:30 AM
1 min read

Overview:
Recently, a team of scientists has claimed that Manganese (Mn) contamination of water is causing cancer in the Gangetic plains of Bihar.
About Manganese:
- Manganese is the fifth-most abundant metal on earth that exists in the form of oxides, carbonates and silicates.
- It is present in food, water, soil, and rock as a naturally occurring component.
- Properties
- It is too brittle to be of much use as a pure metal. It is mainly used in alloys, such as steel.
- Its minerals are widely distributed, with pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) and rhodochrosite (manganese carbonate) being the most common.
- Manganese somewhat resembles iron in general chemical activity.
- The metal oxidizes superficially in air and rusts in moist air.
- It burns in air or oxygen at elevated temperatures, decomposes water slowly when cold and rapidly on heating
- The metal is obtained by reducing the oxide with sodium, magnesium or aluminium, or by the electrolysis of manganese sulfate.
- Manganese ores are primarily produced by Australia, South Africa, China, Gabon, and Brazil.
- It is essential to plant growth and is involved in the assimilation of nitrates in green plants and algae.
- Biological role
- It is an ‘essential trace element’ which plays a vital role in maintaining body homeostasis but can cause severe toxicity if consumed in excess.
- Manganese is an essential element in all known living organisms. Many types of enzymes contain manganese.

Q1: What are minerals?
These are naturally occurring homogeneous solid with a definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic arrangement; it is usually formed by inorganic processes.
News: .Manganese in water is causing cancer in Bihar’s Gangetic plains: Study