ABSTRACT
Rare earth elements (REE) are a chemically uniform group of metals with an exponential increase in their overall production due to their diversified applications (e.g. agriculture, medicine, ceramic and glass industry, military defence, green energy production). This increase caused changes in biogeochemical cycles, such as enrichment of REE in soils due to agricultural practices or gadolinium anomalies in surface water and even water supplies.
Information on the toxicity of these elements is still scarce and poorly understood. Most ecotoxicity studies are based on terrestrial or freshwater species and there are still many contradictions in the literature.
The main objective of this chapter was to summarize the studies that have been carried out over the last two decades on the toxicity of REE in marine organisms.
