ABSTRACT
In recent years a great amount of media attention has focused on the effects of industry on the environment. While a large portion of the attention has focused on “politically correct” issues such as waste incineration, nuclear waste disposal, and rainforest destruction, the environmental and biological damage due to metal contamination has largely been ignored by the media. Lead poisoning, long known to occur in children through the ingestion of lead-based paint chips, is also virtually ignored by the media. In addition, the disposal of large quantities of nickel–cadmium batteries and lead–acid batteries in landfills, a source of groundwater contamination, receives scant attention. This chapter discusses the metals posing the greatest threat to health and the environment, i.e., the most toxic metals, including metals used in large quantities by industry, and metals found in common everyday products such as batteries and paint. The four major metals to be considered are lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.
