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    cadmium (Cd)

    cadmium
    Cadmium.
    Credit: Lenntech Corp
    A soft, silvery-white, malleable and ductile, metallic element, found in group II of the periodic table. Cadmium was first isolated by Fredrich Stromeyer in Göttingen, Germany, in 1817. The name comes from the Latin cadmia, the name for the mineral calomine. It is found in the mineral greenockite (a sulfide) but is chiefly obtained as a by-product in the extraction of zinc and lead. Cadium sulfide, prepared artificially, is a bright yellow color and is used by artists in the form of cadmium yellow.

    Cadmium is used in the manufacture of fusible alloys, for electroplating, and in nickel-cadmium batteries. As it is a good absorber of neutrons it is used in the manufacture of control rods for nuclear reactors. Chemically, it resembles zinc but forms more complex compounds. Its most common isotope is cadmium-114 (28.86 percent).


    atomic number 48
    relative atomic mass 112.4
    relative density 8.65
    melting point 320.9 °C (609.6 °F)
    boiling point 765 °C (1,409 °F)
    electronegativity 1.7
    electron configuration [Kr] 4d105s2
    first ionization potential 866 kJ.mol-1
    second ionization potential 1,622 kJ.mol-1



    Cadmium poisoning

    Cadmium accumulates in the body (especially in the kidneys): although a person's daily intake may be as little as 0.05 milligram, he or she will have stored, on average about 50 mg. Cadmium is a poison, a carcinogen, and is known to cause birth defects.

    Poisoning due the inhalation of cadmium dust or fumes is an industrial hazard, the effects of which vary according to the duration and severity of exposure. Acute exposure may lead to pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs). Exposure over a long period can lead to urinary tract calculi (stones), kidney failure, or emphysema.

    Cadmium poisoning may also be caused by eating vegetables grown in cadmium-rich soil or by consuming food or drink that has been stored in cadmium-lined containers.


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