How green is cadmium?

~ Greencard for: cadmium ~
	Weight:	1	Kg
	Lifespan:	2	Years
	Enegy to make:	1	Kwh
	Energy use:	0	Kwh per year
	Co2 footprint	2.1	Kg
	Chemical footprint:		High
	Waste footprint:	60	%
	Carbon offset:	N/A	Trees

About three-quarters of the cadmium produced is used in batteries, most of the remaining quarter is used mainly for pigments, coatings and plating, and as stabilizers for plastics. It is also found in cigarette smoke and is found naturally (in low levels) in many foods. High exposure to cadmium, particularly if it is inhaled, has been linked to a range of health problems, including lung diseases.

Chemical contamination

Human exposure to environmental cadmium is primarily the result of the burning of fossil fuels and municipal wastes. There have been instances of toxicity as the result of long-term exposure to cadmium in contaminated food and water. Cadmium and several cadmium-containing compounds are known carcinogens and can induce many types of cancer. Extreme care should be taken when handling or disposing of products that contain cadmium. Cadmium does occur naturally so some exposure is unavoidable, the chart below shows the breakdown of sectors that cause human exposure to cadmium

Factoids [4]

Tobacco leaves naturally accumulate and concentrate cadmium, therefore smokers are exposed to a significantly higher level of cadmium that non smokers.

Because cadmium is a naturally occurring component of all soils, all food stuffs will contain some cadmium. Cadmium levels can vary Widely in various types of foodstuffs. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach and certain staples such as potatoes and grain foods exhibit relatively high values from 30 to 150 ppb. Meat and fish normally contain lower cadmium contents, from 5 to 40 ppb. Animal offal can exhibit very high cadmium values, up to 1,000 ppb, as these are the organs in animals where cadmium becomes concentrated

In agricultural areas, fertilised soils may contain between two to six times the average amount of cadmium found in unfertilised soils.

The upper safe limit for cadmium contamination in food and water is 0.05ppm (parts per million)

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