Zinc and Cadmium Compounds

Zinc is widely distributed in nature. The methods for the determination of zinc in different environmental media (air, soil, water, waste, plants) have been reviewed. Zinc screenings are widely applied in the clinical practice. Zinc is essential for humans and animals. It is necessary for the function of numerous enzymes. The toxic effects of zinc have been associated with excess exposure. Zinc acetate has been found to be the most toxic of the compounds tested so far. It has been noticed that excessive zinc addition to food or water has resulted in a variety of systemic effects in the hematological and gastrointestinal systems. Genotoxicity studies conducted in a variety of test systems have failed to provide evidence for the mutagenicity. Zinc is relatively nontoxic, particularly if taken orally, except for the corrosive properties of some salts. The present chapter discusses chemical and physical properties, exposure assessment, guidelines of exposure and clinical cases for various zinc and zinc compounds. Keywords: cysteine-rich intestinal protein; adult respiratory distress syndrome; tubular proteinuria; alkaline phosphatase