ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the more toxic of the most commonly encountered metals, namely lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, zinc and nickel, and the metalloid arsenic. The world’s industrial and pre-industrial civilisations have depended in numerous ways on metal-ore extraction and metal fabrication. The toxic nature of metals and metal salts has also long been recognised, with lead and arsenic compounds often favoured by poisoners. The extraction, processing, refining, fabrication and widespread use of metals and their salts produce hundreds of situations in which hazardous exposures can occur. Assessing the toxic dose of various metals is often more complicated than with other hazardous substances. Most monitoring for metals in the workplace requires sampling for dusts and fumes. The soft, bluish-white to dull grayish coloured, malleable metal lead is obtained by smelting ores containing lead sulfide, lead sulfate or lead carbonate. Lead is the metal most likely to harm both workers and members of the public.
