Talgin Mineral Spring

TALGIN MINERAL SPRING, sulfur water, is located in the Dagestan ASSR, 18 km from the city of Makhachkala (Petropavlovsk-Port station of the North Caucasus Railway), at 42°53' N latitude and 47°29' E longitude from Greenwich, at an altitude of 237 meters above sea level. The spring was developed by a drilling well on the left bank of the Chirkei-Ozen River from a depth of 265 meters. In composition, the water of the Talgin spring is the strongest of all known sulfur waters in the world, including Matsesta (in terms of free H₂S content). It belongs to the type of strong sulfur chloride-sodium-calcium thermal waters at t° 37-38°; the water is colorless and transparent, and when standing, it begins to rapidly opalesce; in taste, the water is bitter-salty with a strong sulfur smell; specific gravity 1.0041 (at 15°); radioactivity-0.65 units of Mache; composition of the released gas: H₂S-21.2%, CO₂-4.5%, CH₄+C₂H_n-42.0%, N₂-32.0%. The flow rate of the spring is 3,000,000 liters per day. Chemical composition of the water, according to E. E. Karstens: dry residue-4.78, including-SO₃-0.59, Cl-1.92, CaO-0.61, MgO-0.13, CO₂-0.17, SH₂-0.375-per 1 liter of water. Climate of the Talgi resort is moderately warm with hot summers and warm winters. The average annual air temperature in Talgi is about 12.0°, and only one month of the year has an average monthly temperature below 0°. In June-t°+21.4°, in July+24.7°, in August+23.9°, in October+12.6°. The average annual relative humidity is 74%, in June-68%, in July and August-62-63%, in September 73%. The total precipitation for the year is 428 mm. The number of days with precipitation in summer is 21 (135 mm). The average annual cloudiness is 63%. Solar radiation already in May reaches significant levels, which makes it possible to widely use sunbaths. For the treatment of patients, there is: a swimming pool with a capacity of 30,000 liters with continuously flowing water at a temperature of 36.5°, a bathhouse, a mud bath using mud from a pond formed by the outflowing sulfur water from the springs. Next to the mud bath is a beach with bathing facilities. The resort has an electrotherapy department, a laboratory, and areas for physical exercise. For the accommodation of patients, there is a newly built sanatorium building with 100 beds and a guesthouse with 130 beds. Medical indications: chronic diseases of the heart and vascular system without disruption of compensation; chronic diseases of the movement organs; diseases of the nervous system-peripheral and central (tabes dorsalis in not too advanced stages); intermittent claudication due to obliterating endarteritis (without gangrenous phenomena); phlebitis and thrombophlebitis with good heart condition; diseases of metabolism (gout and obesity), female and skin diseases. The season in Talgi is from May 16 to September 30. Transportation by railroad to Makhachkala, then by bus to the resort 40-50 minutes.

!! Goldfil. | THALLIUM, Thallium, symbol T), atomic number 81, atomic weight 204.39. It occurs in significant quantities in rare minerals, but in negligible quantities in many minerals and ores, in mineral waters and plant ash. It is present as an impurity in metals, zinc, cadmium, bismuth, in sulfuric, hydrochloric acids. It is a very soft metal, malleable and cuttable with a knife, specific gravity 11.85, melting at 303°, boiling at 1,515°, but begins to volatilize already at 174°. T. in its compounds can be monovalent and trivalent. Salts of monovalent T. resemble alkali metals. TlOH is soluble in water and represents a strong base. Halide salts of T. (TlCl, TlBr, TlI) are insoluble in water and resemble the corresponding lead salts. Salts of trivalent T. resemble salts of aluminum and iron. Oxide of T. Tl₂O₃ is an oxidizing agent, passing into the suboxide Tl₂O. It releases chlorine when acting on hydrochloric acid. Reducers easily convert trivalent thallium salts to divalent ones. Tl₂S is insoluble in water, similar to sulfides of other heavy metals. Of the compounds of T., the main medical significance is the acetate salt (Thallium acetate oxydulatum), Tl(CO₂CH₃), colorless crystals soluble in water and alcohol. Compounds of T. in toxicity exceed lead, resembling in their action on the organism also mercury compounds. When taken orally, divalent T. salts cause a decrease in the tone of smooth muscle and, which is especially specific for T., loss of hair. After a single administration of thallium acetate in a dose of 8 mg per 1 kg of weight, after 6-7 days, gradual hair loss on the head begins, ending after 17-19 days, after which new hair growth begins on the bald areas. At such a dose, hair in the armpits, on the pubis and other places usually does not fall out. Due to this property, T. salts were proposed by Buschke for therapeutic purposes, for example for the treatment of favus, but did not find wide application, as they caused poisoning, while the effectiveness was not inferior to that of radiotherapy. The lethal dose (for an adult) is about 1.5 g. In poisoning with T. salts, pains in the joints, paresthesia, diarrhea, albuminuria, nephritis, eosinophilia are observed. The antidote for poisoning with T. salts is solutions of sodium hyposulfite (hyposulfite, thiosulfate) [this antidote did not justify the hopes placed in it (Buschke)]. The action of thiosulfate is due to the formation of insoluble thallium sulfide, Tl₂S. The discovery of T. in forensic cases presents no difficulties. The white thallium chloride obtained during the destruction of organic substance gives an emerald-green coloration of the flame when introduced into the colorless flame of a Bunsen burner. In the spectroscope, the characteristic line for T. lies at 66.8 divisions of the Bunsen scale: the wavelength of the light of the green T. line = 535 tr. Hydrogen sulfide gives a brown precipitate of thallium sulfide in neutral and acetic acid solutions of T., chloride ion precipitates white thallium chloride-TlCl, iodide ion-yellow TlI. Metallic zinc precipitates from solutions of T. salts a black precipitate of metallic T. - T. salts are also used for deratization (see). In technology, T. salts find application for impregnating wood to protect it from fungal damage, as well as for seed treatment; as fungicides, T. salts significantly exceed mercury salts. In optics, thallium glass is used, which is characterized by a high refractive index. In animal husbandry, T. has great importance in solving the problem of collecting wool from agricultural animals. The possibility of synchronous artificial molting in sheep, goats, deer (Ilyin) and the possibility of obtaining fine wool from coarse-wool animals during molting have been experimentally proven. In connection with the development of these issues, work is being carried out (Ilyin) on the synthesis of new mono- and trivalent compounds of T.