Assessment of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury in Coastal Aquatic Environments in South Florida and Abroad: Identification of Anthropogenic and Natural Sources in Surface Waters
Book Chapter
Quinete, N, Ding, Y, Menzies, R et al. (2023). Assessment of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury in Coastal Aquatic Environments in South Florida and Abroad: Identification of Anthropogenic and Natural Sources in Surface Waters
. 23-45. 10.1201/9781003186441_2
Quinete, N, Ding, Y, Menzies, R et al. (2023). Assessment of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury in Coastal Aquatic Environments in South Florida and Abroad: Identification of Anthropogenic and Natural Sources in Surface Waters
. 23-45. 10.1201/9781003186441_2
Water, one of the most precious and essential resources for life, has been increasingly negatively impacted over the years. Estuarine and coastal environments, in particular, have been constantly suffering with increased urban development, agricultural activities, and wastewater generation, which constitute important sources of anthropogenic pollution. Metals and metalloids are natural constituents of the marine environment, and some are essential or beneficial forlife, generally found at very low concentrations. Cadmium is a natural element in the earth’s crust and a nonessential metal with no biological function in aquatic life, which can enter the environment through natural processes, such as forestfires, rock weathering and volcanic emissions, as well as from human sources due to its industrial use in the manufacturing of batteries, plastic stabilizers, pigments, coatings, plating, electronics and more recently, as nanoparticles for solar cells.
