Sc – Scandium is found in igneous rock at 22 ppm; shales 13 ppm; sandstone and limestone at I ppm; sea water at 0.000004 ppm; soils at 7 ppm; land plants at 0.008 ppm; land animals at 0.00006 ppm (concentrates in mammalian heart and bone).
Scandium has been described as essential for the growth of two organisms: the mold Aspergillus niger and the fungi Cercospora granati Rawla. Pehrsson and Lins found that the concentration of scandium was higher in heart tissue from patients with uremic heart failure (range 0.02-0.9 ng/g fresh weight) than from nonuremic controls (range 0.003-0.1 ng/g fresh weight). The control values were obtained by Wester, who also stated that the scandium concentration in uninjured infarcted heart tissue was lower in patients with than without a history of arterial hypertension, and that scandium is higher in conductive tissue than in adjacent heart tissue. Scandium also was found to be lower in hair of cancer patients (0.006 +or- 0.004 mcg/g than of the general population (0.07 +or- 0.07 mcg/g. Vanoeteren et al. found that the scandium concentration in lung differed markedly from one person to another, with a range of 0.49 to 3.0 ng/g fresh tissue. They suggested that inhaled dust particles may have caused the differences. Although the preceding indicates that tissue concentrations are relatively low, the apparent requirement of scandium by some lower forms of life and the redistribution of tissue scandium in pathological conditions suggest that this element might have physiological action in higher forms of life. If there is a requirement for scandium, it must be low because limited analyses show relatively low amounts of scandium in food. Duke found a small variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains contained 0.005-0.1 mcg scandium per gram dry weight. Oakes et al. found generally et al. reported that maple syrup and a variety of nuts contained 2-4 ng scandium per gram dry weight; only Brazil nuts were higher, containing 20 ng/g. Clemente et al. reported that the Italian dietary intake of scandium was only 170 ng/day and urinary excretion was < 10 ng/ day.