Palladium Emissions in the Environment Analytical Methods, Environmental Assessment and Health Effects

In 2004 an amount of 187 tons of palladium has been sold in world market. The main demands were automotive catalyst (58%), electronics (14%), jewellery (14%) and dental practises (13%). Especially, the increasing use of palladium in catalytic converters is a reason for substantial research in this field. Emission, environmental distribution and possible health effects of pla- num have been summarized detailed in two recent books "Emissionen von Platinmetallen: Analytik, Umwelt- und Gesundheitsrelevanz" and "Anth- pogenic Platinum Group Emissions - Their Impact on Man and Envir- ment" published by Springer in 1999 and 2000 (Zereini & Alt (Eds)). But there is a clear lack of information concerning palladium. It is very imp- tant to condense the present state of research findings from emission to potential health risks for the environment and humans. Very important is the chapter about analytical determination of pal- dium, which shows clearly the problems of several analytical techniques. Some data published during the last decade have to be re-evaluated because of insufficient analytical techniques. Also the finding that palladium c- pounds are relatively soluble and mobile in environmental settings is a great issue for further investigations. I think it is the right time for such a comprehensive book about palladium research and I am sure that readers with different scientific background like chemists, biologists, geologists medical doctors e.g. will benefit very much from reading this book.