I am concerned about cadmium in my drinking water. How can cadmium be released into the environment?
Cadmium occurs naturally in zinc, lead, copper and other ores that can serve as sources to ground and surface waters, especially when in contact with soft, acidic waters. Major industrial releases of cadmium are due to waste streams and leaching of landfills, and from a variety of operations that involve cadmium or zinc. In particular, cadmium can be released to drinking water from the corrosion of some galvanized plumbing and water main pipe materials. From 1987 to 1993, according to EPA's Toxic Chemical Release Inventory, cadmium releases were primarily from zinc, lead, and copper smelting and refining industries. Additional information on cadmium can be found at http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/cadmium.cfm.
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Topic Information
- Topic #: 23002-16148
- Date Created: 10/31/2004
- Last Modified Since: 10/12/2010
- Viewed: 5384