[Vanadium: threat and hope]

Vanadium is an element classified in the group of heavy metals, very common in the natural environment and widely used in industry. It is mainly used in the production of nonferrous alloys, most resistant carbon steel, as well as in chemical, glass, paint and varnish, ceramic, and photographic industries. In the atmosphere, two second of vanadium originates from anthropogenic sources, sea-born aerosols and volcanic eruptions. Municipal waste is the major source of vanadium in surface water. It is one of the components of live organisms and participates in many biochemical processes essential for their proper functioning, but in higher concentrations it may induce acute or chronic intoxication that damage biological structures and disorder biochemical systems. The mechanism of vanadium toxic effect has not as yet been elucidated, however, it is already known that this mechanism is rooted among others in vanadium properties able to hinder a number of enzymatic systems. For vanadium the most "critical" systems are respiratory, urinary and hemopoietic. Vanadium salts may also be genotoxic and harmful at different phases of reproduction and development. Numerous studies of a possible use of vanadium in treatment of certain diseases, e.g., diabetes, have been carried out. Some findings on a potential antineoplastic or contraceptive effect of vanadium compounds have recently been reported. To sum up, there are numerous hazards associated with the wide industrial use of vanadium, nevertheless, the number of findings highlighting its nutritive and therapeutic properties is growing.