Abstract
THE discovery that environmental levels of mercury and lead present serious health hazards has led to intensified investigations into the effects of other heavy metals. Cadmium is a particularly toxic contaminant, and as with mercury, widespread environmental exposure to cadmium is related to its increased technological use1. We have developed an isotope dilution technique to measure the concentration of cadmium in aqueous solutions with a sensitivity of 0.003 µg 1−1. The concentration of cadmium in two river systems in Western Australia has been measured to establish an accurate set of low level reference determinations in a region which is relatively free of sources of industrial pollution.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
McCaull, J., Environment, 13, 3–41 (1971).
Williams, C. H., and David, D. J., Aust. J. Soil Res., 11, 43–56 (1973).
WHO, International Standards for Drinking Waters, 2nd ed. (WHO, Geneva, 1963).
Committee on Water Quality Criteria: Report of the Committee, Federal Water Pollution Administration. (US Government Printer, Washington, DC, 1968).
Struempler, A. W., Analyt. Chem., 45, 2251–2254 (1973).
Rosman, K. J. R., and De Laeter, J. R., Geochim. cosmochim. Acta, 38, 1665–1667 (1974).
Prider, R. T., 8th Commonwealth Min. and Metall. Congress, 1, 56–65 (1965).
Rosman, K. J. R., and De Laeter, J. R., Chem. Geol., 13, 69–74 (1974).
Goldberg, E. D., in Chemical Oceanography (edit. by Riley, J. P., and Skirrow, G.)(Academic, New York, 1965).
Gardiner, J., Water Res., 8, 157–164 (1974).
Abdullah, M. I., and Royle, L. G., Nature, 239, 329–330 (1972).
Valdez, H., Ecologist, 5, 347–348 (1975).
Reconnaissance of Selected Minor Elements in Surface Waters of the United States, Geol. Surv. Circular, 43, (US Geological Survey, Washington, DC, 1970).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
ROSMAN, K., DE LAETER, J. Low level determinations of environmental cadmium. Nature 261, 685–686 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261685a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/261685a0
This article is cited by
-
Absorption, distribution and binding of cadmium and zinc in irrigated rice plants
Plant and Soil (1978)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.