Exposure to airborne cadmium in some Italian urban areas

Three hundred and ninety-five daily airborne particulate samples collected in urban and industrial areas of Genoa and La Spezia, and 46 samples from urban areas of a further 16 Italian towns, provide information for the mean airborne cadmium exposure. The geometrical means for cadmium were the highest near the municipal urban waste incinerator of Genoa and in the industrial area of La Spezia (respectively 9.0 and 5.1 ng/m3). After closure of the incinerator a significant decrease (−96%) in cadmium around the plant was found. In all the urban areas, mean cadmium concentrations ranged from 1.5 to 2.8 ng/m3 and at the rural site of La Spezia the mean cadmium concentration was 0.9 ng/m3. These results agree with those found for other, similar European areas. Traffic and urban waste incineration were identified as the main sources of cadmium.