Cadmium speciation/atmospheric

Abstract This chapter reports an analysis of literature dedicated to the speciation of cadmium in various environmental compartments, i.e., atmosphere, natural waters, soils and sediments. The difficulty of the cadmium speciation studies, due to the variability of composition of different natural systems and to the low cadmium concentration in the environment, is highlighted. As an alternative approach, cadmium behavior is assessed by modelling its reactivity towards the main classes of ligands usually present in natural systems. The stability of cadmium complexes with... 

In the atmosphere, cadmium is present as a result of both namral and man-made activities, mainly in finer particles. It mainly occurs in various inorganic forms, though organic complexation may play important roles in some cases. In the natural waters, cadmium is mainly present as chloride and/or carbonate species, though the presence of organic ligands may influence its speciation. In soils and sediments, including soil solutions, cadmium speciation is deeply affected by the characteristic of the matrix. 

Fernandez Alvarez F, Temero Rodriguez M, Fernandez Espinosa AJ et al (2004) Physical speciation of arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel in inhalable atmospheric particles. Anal Chim Acta 524 33-40... 

The atmospheric pollution by cadmium is a result both of natural and man-made activities, such as the combustion processes based on fossil fuels (in particular coal and oil) and the emission from processes in the pyro-metallurigical non-ferrous metal industries. The deposition, transport, and inhalation processes are controlled predominantly by the size of the atmospheric aerosols, so that the primary type of speciation of interest to atmospheric chemists is the metal size distribution. However, chemical speciation (in terms of the distribution of both the dissolved/ particulate species and the inorganic/organic complexes) is important in governing... 

The speciation of cadmium in various environmental compartments, i.e., atmosphere, soils and sediments, and natural waters, has been summarized in this chapter. 

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