Summary in French and Spanish.

Evaluates the threat to ecosystems posed by contamination of the environment with cadmium from natural and industrial sources. More than 350 investigations were critically assessed. The opening sections outline the most important natural and industrial sources of environmental contamination, describe mechanisms of environmental transport, and summarize data on concentrations of cadmium found in various biota. Natural sources identified include zinc, lead, and copper ore and volcanic activity. Noting a major shift in industrial applications over the past few decades, the report cites a decline in the use of cadmium for electroplating and a significant increase in its use in batteries. Other important sources of environmental contamination include steel production and the use of phosphate fertilizers. The kinetics and metabolism of cadmium are reviewed in the third section, which concentrates on the many environmental variables, such as temperature, salinity, pH, and the chemical composition of water and soil, that influence cadmium uptake in different aquatic and terrestrial systems and determine the toxic impact on organisms and microorganisms. The remaining sections evaluate data on the toxicity of cadmium to microorganisms, aquatic organisms, and terrestrial organisms, and review the results of field investigations. Documented consequences of environmental contamination with cadmium from either natural or man-made sources include the development of cadmium tolerance in some species, reduced breakdown of leaf litter and recycling of nutrients, physiological abnormalities in fish, and kidney damage in sea-birds. Because of flaws in the design of many investigations, the book concludes that the impact of cadmium on ecosystems may have been underestimated.

eng rus.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

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