INTERNATIONAL CADMIUM ASSOCIATION

Cadmium is a relatively rare element and is not found as pure metal in nature. It occurs mainly in association with sulphide ores of zinc, lead and copper. Cadmium has only been produced commercially in the twentieth century as a by-product of the zinc refining industry. Annual production and consumption has been rather flat over the past 20 years at approximately 25,000 tonnes. To minimize risk of exposure to cadmium, its applications have gradually been restricted to a limited number of professional and industrial uses, where appropriate measures are in place to minimize exposure. In these applications, cadmium provides unique physico-chemical properties linked to its atomic structure (both nucleus and electronic) which other elements do not display. While this shift has been completed in the EU and most of the Western World, it is still in progress elsewhere.

Also known as: cadmium

Primary location: Brussels United States