Heavy Metals

Introduction

The term heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples of heavy metals include mercury(Hg), cadmium(Cd), arsenic(As), chromium(Cr), thallium(Tl), and lead(Pb).

Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth's crust. They cannot be degraded or destroyed. To a small extent they enter our bodies via food, drinking water and air. As trace elements, some heavy metals (e.g. copper, selenium, zinc) are essential to maintain the metabolism of the human body. However, at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning. Heavy metal poisoning could result, for instance, from drinking-water contamination (e.g. lead pipes), high ambient air concentrations near emission sources, or intake via the food chain.

Heavy metals are dangerous because they tend to bioaccumulate. Bioaccumulation means an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemical's concentration in the environment. Compounds accumulate in living things any time they are taken up and stored faster than they are broken down (metabolized) or excreted.

Heavy metals can enter a water supply by industrial and consumer waste, or even from acidic rain breaking down soils and releasing heavy metals into streams, lakes, rivers, and groundwater.

Environmental and health risks.

Now we are going to describe the effects of the heavy metals in the environment. The three most pollutans heavy metals are Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.

Effects of Antimony on the environment

Antimony is a metal used in the compound antimony trioxide, a flame retardant. It can also be found in batteries, pigments, and ceramics and glass. Exposure to high levels of antimony for short periods of time causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. There is little information on the effects of long-term antimony exposure, but it is a suspected human carcinogen. Most antimony compounds do not bioaccumulate in aquatic life.

Effects of Cadmium on the environment

Cadmium derives its toxicological properties from its chemical similarity to zinc an essential micronutrient for plants, animals and humans. Cadmium is biopersistent and, once absorbed by an organism, remains resident for many years (over decades for humans) although it is eventually excreted.

In humans, long-term exposure is associated with renal disfunction. High exposure can lead to obstructive lung disease and has been linked to lung cancer, although data concerning the latter are difficult to interpret due to compounding factors. Cadmium may also produce bone defects (osteomalacia, osteoporosis) in humans and animals. In addition, the metal can be linked to increased blood pressure and effects on the myocardium in animals, although most human data do not support these findings.

The average daily intake for humans is estimated as 0.15µg from air and 1µg from water. Smoking a packet of 20 cigarettes can lead to the inhalation of around 2-4µg of cadmium, but levels may vary widely.

In what form is emitted Cadmium?

Cadmium is produced as an inevitable by-product of zinc (or occasionally lead) refining, since these metals occur naturally within the raw ore. However, once collected the cadmium is relatively easy to recycle.

The most significant use of cadmium is in nickel/cadmium batteries, as rechargeable or secondary power sources exhibiting high output, long life, low maintenance and high tolerance to physical and electrical stress. Cadmium coatings provide good corrosion resistance, particularly in high stress environments such as marine and aerospace applications where high safety or reliability is required; the coating is preferentially corroded if damaged. Other uses of cadmium are as pigments, stabilisers for PVC, in alloys and electronic compounds. Cadmium is also present as an impurity in several products, including phosphate fertilisers, detergents and refined petroleum products.

In the general, non-smoking population the major exposure pathway is through food, via the addition of cadmium to agricultural soil from various sources (atmospheric deposition and fertiliser application) and uptake by food and fodder crops. Additional exposure to humans arises through cadmium in ambient air and drinking water.

Effects of Chromium on the environment

Chromium is used in metal alloys and pigments for paints, cement, paper, rubber, and other materials. Low-level exposure can irritate the skin and cause ulceration. Long-term exposure can cause kidney and liver damage, and damage too circulatory and nerve tissue. Chromium often accumulates in aquatic life, adding to the danger of eating fish that may have been exposed to high levels of chromium.

Effects of Copper on the environment

Copper is an essential substance to human life, but in high doses it can cause anemia, liver and kidney damage, and stomach and intestinal irritation. People with Wilson's disease are at greater risk for health effects from overexposure to copper. Copper normally occurs in drinking water from copper pipes, as well as from additives designed to control algal growth.

Effects of Lead on the environment

In humans exposure to lead can result in a wide range of biological effects depending on the level and duration of exposure. Various effects occur over a broad range of doses, with the developing foetus and infant being more sensitive than the adult. High levels of exposure may result in toxic biochemical effects in humans which in turn cause problems in the synthesis of haemoglobin, effects on the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, joints and reproductive system, and acute or chronic damage to the nervous system.

Lead poisoning, which is so severe as to cause evident illness, is now very rare indeed. At intermediate concentrations, however, there is persuasive evidence that lead can have small, subtle, subclinical effects, particularly on neuropsychological developments in children. Some studies suggest that there may be a loss of up to 2 IQ points for a rise in blood leadlevels from 10 to 20µg/dl in young children.

Average daily lead intake for adults in the UK is estimated at 1.6µg from air, 20µg from drinking water and 28µg from food. Although most people receive the bulk of their lead intake from food, in specific populations other sources may be more important, such as water in areas with lead piping and plumbosolvent water, air near point of source emissions, soil, dust, paint flakes in old houses or contaminated land. Lead in the air contributes to lead levels in food through deposition of dust and rain containing the metal, on crops and the soil. For the majority of people in the UK, however, dietary lead exposure is well below the provisional tolerable weekly intake recommended by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation.

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