Cadmium
Source of Cadmium
Cadmium enters the environment through a variety of industrial operations, it is an impurity found in zinc. By-products from mining, smelting, electroplating, pigment, and plasticizer production can contain cadmium. Cadmium emissions come from fossil fuel use. Cadmium makes its way into the water supplies as a result of deterioration of galvanized plumbing, industrial waste or fertilizer contamination.. The US EPA Primary Drinking Water Standards lists Cadmium with a 0.005 mg/l MCL.
Treatment of Cadmium
Cadmium can be removed from drinking water with a sodium form cation exchanger (softener). Reverse Osmosis will remove 95 - 98% of the cadmium in the water. Electrodialysis will also remove the majority of the cadmium.