Improper disposal of high-cadmium jewelry poses environmental hazards

Cadmium is highly toxic, causing both bone and kidney damage in higher animals including humans. Human exposure to cadmium is a concern not only due to its toxicity but also to its ability to bioaccumulate in the body over time. Recent studies have shown that some inexpensive jewelry items purchased in the USA contain extraordinarily high concentrations of cadmium-in some cases, over 90.0% (900,000 ppm) Cd by mass. The cadmium in these items poses a hazard not only to children who may mouth or swallow pieces of jewelry, but the ultimate disposal of this jewelry in household trash can lead to the release of cadmium into the environment through landfill leachates. Of 45 high-cadmium jewelry items evaluated by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), 43 exceeded the US regulatory standard of 1 mg/L in the leachate, and the average concentration found was 546 mg/L. The maximum cadmium release in these tests was 3250 mg/L. The use of cadmium in inexpensive jewelry thus poses serious environmental hazards that can be avoided by eliminating cadmium from these products.