“Heavy Metals”–A Meaningless Term? (IUPAC Technical Report)
Highlights from Pure and Applied Chemistry
“Heavy Metals”–A Meaningless Term? (IUPAC Technical Report)
by J. H. Duffus
Pure and Applied Chemistry, Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 793-807 (2002)
Over the past two decades, the term "heavy metals" has been widely used. It is often used as a group name for metals and semimetals (metalloids) that have been associated with contamination and potential toxicity or ecotoxicity. At the same time, legal regulations often specify a list of "heavy metals" to which they apply. Such lists differ from one set of regulations to another and the term is sometimes used without even specifying which "heavy metals" are covered. However, there is no authoritative definition to be found in the relevant literature. There is a tendency, unsupported by the facts, to assume that all so-called "heavy metals" and their compounds have highly toxic or ecotoxic properties. This has no basis in chemical or toxicological data. Thus, the term "heavy metals" is both meaningless and misleading. Even the term "metal" is commonly misused in both toxicological literature and in legislation to mean the pure metal and all the chemical species in which it may exist. This usage implies that the pure metal and all its compounds have the same physiochemical, biological, and toxicological properties, which is untrue. In order to avoid the use of the term "heavy metal," a new classification based on the periodic table is needed. Such a classification should reflect our understanding of the chemical basis of toxicity and allow toxic effects to be predicted.
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Contents
- Balancing Sources and Uses
- A Glance Into the Future
- The Special Topics Project
- Accomplishments During the Past Decade and Relationships With Industry
- Candid Chemistry
- IUPAC Representative’s Report on the 34th Codex Committee Session
- Young Chemists to the 39th IUPAC Congress, Ottawa, August 2003
- Chemical Education International
- The “Orange Book” Online
- IUPAC–Empfehlungen
- Chemical Actinometry
- Conducting Polymer Colloids and Nanofilms
- Information Essential for Characterizing a Flow-Based Analytical System (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Sulfate-Sensing Electrodes. The Lead- Amalgam/Lead-Sulfate Electrode (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Future Requirements In the Characterization of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Composites (IUPAC Technical Report)
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- Molecular Basis of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Sustained Innovative Utilization (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Naming of New Elements (IUPAC Recommendations 2002)
- “Heavy Metals”–A Meaningless Term? (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Phane Nomenclature. Part II. Modification of the Degree of Hydrogenation and Substitution Derivatives of Phane Parent Hydrides (IUPAC Recommendations 2002)
- Harmonized Guidelines for Single- Laboratory Validation of Methods of Analysis (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Polyaniline. Preparation of a Conducting Polymer (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Studies on Biodegradable Poly[hexano-6- lactone] Fibers. Part 3. Enzymatic Degradation in Vitro (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Free-Radical Polymerization: Kinetics and Mechanism
- C2+ Nitroalkanes With Water or Organic Solvents: Binary and Multicomponent Systems
- Advanced Organic Chemistry Part A: Structure and Mechanisms Part B: Reactions and Synthesis
- Modern Coordination Chemistry–The Legacy of Joseph Chatt
- Biodiversity
- Macromolecules and Materials Science
- Nuclear Analytical Techniques in the Life Sciences
- Prohibiting Chemical Weapons
- Rejuvenating the Learning and Teaching of Chemistry 30 November–4 December 2002, Melbourne, Australia
- 4th Florida Heterocyclic Conference 10–12 March 2003, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- 12th IUPAC International Symposium on Organo-Metallic Chemistry (OMCOS-12) 6–10 July 2003, Toronto, Canada
- Calendar of IUPAC Sponsored Conferences
