248
Table 10.2 Different sources of metal contamination (Uddin 2017)
Contaminant Usage
Natural sources
Industrial sources
Nickel
High resistive nickel alloy
and steel, catalyst for
metallurgy, coating
element, manufacturing
battery, food pigment
Dust volcanoes,
fissure in the earth’s
crust, sea salt,
wildfires, ore mining
Smelting operations,
electroplating, thermal power
stations, battery industries,
incineration of solid waste
Lead
Automotive batteries,
pigments of oil paints,
stabilizers in plastic, fuel
additive, crystal glass,
cosmetics
Lead aerosols,
prairie fire volcanic
eruptions
Mining of metal ores,
smelting process,
incineration of lead acid
batteries, combustion of
fossil fuels, ceramic, and
glassware
Zinc
Galvanic cell, die-casting
alloys, plastic and paints,
cosmetics pharmaceuticals,
batteries, textiles electrical
equipment
Rock, surface water Poultry manures,
electroplating, smelting
Copper
Wiring, electronic devices,
transmission wires, copper
alloys, and ornaments
Wind-blown dust,
sea spray
Mining, electroplating,
smelting operations
Cadmium
Steel electroplating,
computer, laptop, Ni-Cd
batteries, nuclear reactor
Mining and smelting,
coal combustion,
anthropogenic
sources
Metal plating, industrial
wastewater, soldering,
phosphate fertilizers, plastic
stabilizers
Mercury
Thermometers, barometers Geologic deposits of
Hg, volcanoes,
volatilization from
the ocean
Hydroelectric, coal-based
thermal power plants,
incineration of medical
waste
Arsenic
Insecticides, rat killer,
doping agent in
semiconductor, bronzing,
wood preservation
Ground water, earth
crust, volcanic
activities, geothermal
processes
Fuel combustion, smelting,
geogenic processes, thermal
plants
Chromium
Electroplating, stainless
steel, catalyst, pigments,
food processing equipment,
medical and dental tools
Rocks, soil, and in
volcanic dust and
gases
Mining, chrome plating,
airborne emissions from
chemical plants, cement
plants, solid wasteland filling
Cobalt
Corrosion/wear resistant
alloy for aircraft, batteries,
and electroplating,
permanent magnet,
radioactive in treatment
cancer
Soil, dust, seawater,
volcanic eruptions,
forest fires, surface
and underground
water
Ore smelting, processing of
superalloys and coating,
nuclear power plant
operations, vehicular
exhaust, radioactive waste
landfills, combustion of coal
and oil
M. Maharana et al.
Table 10.2 Different sources of metal contamination (Uddin 2017)
Contaminant Usage
Natural sources
Industrial sources
Nickel
High resistive nickel alloy
and steel, catalyst for
metallurgy, coating
element, manufacturing
battery, food pigment
Dust volcanoes,
fissure in the earth’s
crust, sea salt,
wildfires, ore mining
Smelting operations,
electroplating, thermal power
stations, battery industries,
incineration of solid waste
Lead
Automotive batteries,
pigments of oil paints,
stabilizers in plastic, fuel
additive, crystal glass,
cosmetics
Lead aerosols,
prairie fire volcanic
eruptions
Mining of metal ores,
smelting process,
incineration of lead acid
batteries, combustion of
fossil fuels, ceramic, and
glassware
Zinc
Galvanic cell, die-casting
alloys, plastic and paints,
cosmetics pharmaceuticals,
batteries, textiles electrical
equipment
Rock, surface water Poultry manures,
electroplating, smelting
Copper
Wiring, electronic devices,
transmission wires, copper
alloys, and ornaments
Wind-blown dust,
sea spray
Mining, electroplating,
smelting operations
Cadmium
Steel electroplating,
computer, laptop, Ni-Cd
batteries, nuclear reactor
Mining and smelting,
coal combustion,
anthropogenic
sources
Metal plating, industrial
wastewater, soldering,
phosphate fertilizers, plastic
stabilizers
Mercury
Thermometers, barometers Geologic deposits of
Hg, volcanoes,
volatilization from
the ocean
Hydroelectric, coal-based
thermal power plants,
incineration of medical
waste
Arsenic
Insecticides, rat killer,
doping agent in
semiconductor, bronzing,
wood preservation
Ground water, earth
crust, volcanic
activities, geothermal
processes
Fuel combustion, smelting,
geogenic processes, thermal
plants
Chromium
Electroplating, stainless
steel, catalyst, pigments,
food processing equipment,
medical and dental tools
Rocks, soil, and in
volcanic dust and
gases
Mining, chrome plating,
airborne emissions from
chemical plants, cement
plants, solid wasteland filling
Cobalt
Corrosion/wear resistant
alloy for aircraft, batteries,
and electroplating,
permanent magnet,
radioactive in treatment
cancer
Soil, dust, seawater,
volcanic eruptions,
forest fires, surface
and underground
water
Ore smelting, processing of
superalloys and coating,
nuclear power plant
operations, vehicular
exhaust, radioactive waste
landfills, combustion of coal
and oil
M. Maharana et al.