ABSTRACT
Cadmium is one of the all-star pollutants, along with a few other elements such as mercury, arsenic, and lead. This distinction results from the relative abundance of Cd in the environment and of its great toxicity to all living things, including man. Much as the “Minamata Bay disease” in the 1950s focused the attention of environmental scientists and toxicologists on mercury, the earlier outbreak of the “itai–itai disease” in the Jinzu river basin in Japan focused their attention on Cd, the direct cause of this disease. As a result, much attention has been directed to the sources and transport of Cd in the environment and to its noxious effects on various organisms.
