INTERNATIONAL CADMIUM ASSOCIATION

An EC study has found that cadmium pigments present no significant threat to human health or the environment, says the International Cadmium Association. In view of the positive life cycle assessment, EC Member States voted earlier this year that there should be no further restrictions on the marketing and use of cadmium pigments in plastics. INTERNATIONAL CADMIUM ASSOCIATION... 

International Cadmium Association 9222 Jeffery Road Post Office Box 924 Great Falls, VA 22066-0924 USA... 

The SEI data is based mainly on earlier emission numbers for NiCd battery manufacturing, whereas the OECD monograph data represents updated emissions in the European Union as of 1994 compared to total volumes of cadmium utilized for NiCd battery production, based on information from the International Cadmium Association. All of this data indicates that most of the cadmium remains in the product and is not lost during NiCd battery manufacturing. A similar conclusion can be inferred with respect to nickel and cobalt, the other materials in a NiCd battery which might be likely to be regarded as hazardous and contribute to an adverse environmental impact. Iron, of... 

During the normal use and maintenance of a battery system, they are neither destroyed nor dissipated nor do they emit any harmful substances. Battery systems may be sealed or vented. If they are sealed, then no emissions occur during normal use and maintenance. If they are vented, then water vapor, hydrogen gas or oxygen gas may be vented, depending on the system and whether it is charging or discharging. A 1994 report (Stockholm Environmental Institute 1994), for example estimated that the dissipation rates for both industrial and consumer NiCd batteries were 0.01 percent per year. The International Cadmium Association believes, based on surveys of its NiCd battery producer members, that the dissipation rates are virtually zero, or so low as to be undetectable. 

Cadmium daily intake levels in most OECD nations have been decreasing steadily since the 1970s and today range from 10 to 20 jig per day, well below any levels of human health concern (International Cadmium Association 1999). These relationships are shown in Figure 6. 

International Cadmium Association 1999, Cadmium - A Problem of the Past, A Solution for the Future, International Cadmium Association, Brussels, Belgium and Great Falls, VA, 1999. 

International Cadmium Association, 9222 Jeffery Road, P.O. Box 924, Great Falls, VA 22066-0924, U.S.A. 

EC member states have voted that there should be no further restriction on the marketing and use of cadmium pigments for plastics. The International Cadmium Association (ICA) believes that this should now be safeguarded for the next three years, when a more far-reaching report on cadmium and cadmium oxide is expected. A Directive (91/338/EEC) was adopted by the EC to harmonize restrictions on the use of cadmium-based pigments that had been introduced by different countries. It does not ban the use of these materials but limits their use. For example, cadmium-based pigments may not be used in plastics materials where there are other satisfactory substitutes. Polypropylene and polystyrene are specifically listed as polymers where non-cadmium pigments must be used where possible. Other polymers where there is a restriction include thermoplastic polyesters, poly(methyl methacrylate), cross-linked polyethylene and melamine, urea, and polyester resins. 

The International Cadmium Association (ICdA) in Brussels, Belgium, made an estimate of cadmium consumption for different end uses in 2001. Batteries account for 75%, pigments 12%, coatings and plating 8%, and stabihzers for plastics and similar purposes 4%. The remaining small amount of cadmium, 1%, is used in some very special applications such as nonferrous alloys and as cadmium telluride (CdTe) for electronic compounds. 

Edited Proceedings of the 4th International Cadmium Conference, Munich, Cadmium Association, Cadmium Council and ILZRO, New York, 1983. 

D. Rade, A. Domemann, Proceedings of the Third International Cadmium Conference Miami, 1981, Cadmium Association, London, pp. 37-40. 

Elgersma et al. 1992, Emission Factors for Aqueous Industrial Cadmium Emissions in the Rhine River Basin A Historical Reconstruction for the Period 1970-1988, Edited Proceedings Seventh International Cadmium Conference - New Orleans, Cadmium Association (London), Cadmium Council (Reston VA) and International Lead Zinc Research Organization (Research Triangle ParkNC). 

Rade D and Dornemann A (1981) Migration studies on Cadmium Pigments in Plastics. In Cadmium 81 Edited Proceedings, Third International Cadmium Conference, Miami, USA, 3 -5 February 1981.Cadmium Association/Cad-mium Council/ILZRO, London, UK. 

Much larger material flows are due to mining and other activities, which mobilise more than 50,000 million tonnes per year (OECD 2008). While these mainly give rise to considerations of sustainability and resource efficiency (Fig. 12.2), their contaminants may entail considerable chemical safety concerns. For instance, the coal mining of 7,000 million tonnes annually mobilises associated contaminants of some 40,000 tonnes of lead, 20,000 tonnes of arsenic and 600 tonnes of cadmium, based on estimates of contaminants in internationally traded coal (CSIRO 2009). 

The scope of what constitutes hazards waste, an ever-present downside of the benefits we derive from the manufacture, processing, and use of chemicals and their products, continues to expand as technology moves forward. In the US two million tons of electronic products, including 50 million computers and 130 million cellphones, are disposed of every year. According to the International Association of Electronic Recylers, this number will more than triple by 2010. With such quantities in landfills and rivers, there are bound to be consequences for our air and water. Potential toxicants include lead, cadmium, and beryllium. 

Boffetta P. Methodological aspects of the epidemiological association between cadmium and cancer in humans. In Cadmium in the human environment toxicity and carcinogenicity. Nordberg G, Herber R, Alessio L (editors). International Agency for Research on Cancer (lARC) Scientific Publications vol 118, Lyon 1992 p. 425-434. 

Accumulation of heavy metals by several organisms has been shown to be associated with the production of special proteins. The internal organs of marine organisms accumulate not only cadmium but also copper and zinc Fractionation of metal-binding proteins of squid liver by gel permeation chromatography revealed... 

During the last several years, the market for mercuric oxide batteries has almost completely evaporated, due mainly to environmental problems associated with mercury and cadmium and few are manufactured. They have been removed from the International Electrotechnical Commission (lEC) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. In applications, they have been replaced by alkaline-manganese dioxide, zinc/air, silver oxide and lithium batteries. 

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