Endangered elements of the periodic table

Recent studies show that nearly 40% of the 118 elements that make up everything – from the chemist’s arsenal to a variety of consumer products, are facing depleting supplies. Based on this data, in 2011, Mike Pitts and his colleagues at the Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network developed a new type of periodic table. Their analysis revealed that 44 elements are facing limited supply, or are under the threat of becoming scarce or inaccessible. These includes all of the rare earth elements, as well as zinc, gallium, germanium, helium, silver, and even phosphorus. The Royal Society of Chemistry has also published a color-coded periodic table, indicating the ‘endangered elements’. The objective of this article is to draw attention to this issue, and create awareness about the scientific, social and economic impacts of this problem. © 2017, Indian Academy of Sciences.