Description
We usually call heavy metals all natural metallic elements which volumetric mass is higher than 5g/cm3. We can often find them under small quantities in the environment. Toxicological impact of heavy metals depends on their chemical form (named "chemical species"), their concentration, the environmental context, their biodisponibility and their availability to pass through the trophic network. The most toxic are Lead, Cadmium and Mercury.
Most researched elements: Antimony (Sb), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Mercury (Hg), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Thallium (Ti), Vanadium (V).