Week Five - Inert Gas of the Week: Xenon

Xenon sounds like a stereotypical name for an alien life form, or some faraway planet. It's late as I start this, so why not choose my element based on this :) Lo and behold, xenon is greek for foreigner, stranger, or guest....or alien?!

Like the other inert gases, xenon is not very reactive, and it is heavy, colorless and odorless. In the 1930s it was used for high speed flash photography and strobe lights. It is used in various types of lasers, including lasers for dermatological procedures.

In connecting to our green themed discussions, xenon is used as a general anesthetic for surgery and it is NOT a greenhouse gas like nitrous oxide is! It is a very environmentally friendly choice for this purpose. It can also be a safer choice as when combined with oxygen the rates for hypoxia are decreased. Why is it not being used exclusively you ask? $$$$$$$!!! Xenon is quite expensive (100x more so than nitrous oxide) and a system needs to be developed to contain the gas, recycle it and decontaminate it between uses in order for it to be economically feasible. That being said, some systems are said to be surfacing in Europe. 

With the amount of surgeries being conducted on a daily basis, I hope they will soon integrate xenon into our anesthesia procedures here in the States soon!