Toxic metal chemistry in marine environments

The fate of a metal pollutant in a marine system is closely determined by its chemistry. This book presents an integrated chemical behavior of selected toxic metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, and lead). In doing so, metal concentrations in marine sediments and seawaters are reviewed, solubility controls (solid phase formation and adsorption) are discussed, most abundant chemical forms are proposed, and field observations are compared with theoretical calculations. In addition, one of the objectives of this book is to correlate metal chemical behavior to bioaccumulation and toxicity in marine environments. This objective is based on the observation of metals which bioaccumulate in marine organisms causing adverse effects on the health of humans who consume large quantities of seafood.