Over forty years ago, concern was first focussed on cadmium contamination of soils, fertilisers and the food chain. Adverse effects on human health were first highlighted nearly 30 years ago in Japan with the outbreak of Itai-itai disease. Since then, substantial research data have accumulated for cadmium on chemistry in soils, additions to soils, uptake by plants, adverse effects on the soil biota and transfer through the food chain. However, this information has never been compiled into a single volume. This was the stimulus for the Kevin G. Tiller Memorial Symposium "Cadmium in Soils, Plants and the Food Chain", held at the University of California, Berkeley, in June 1997 as part of the Fourth International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements. This symposium brought together leading scientists in the field of cadmium behaviour in soils and plants, to review the scientific data in the literature and highlight gaps in our current knowledge of the subject. This series of review papers are presented here and deal with the chemistry of cadmium in soils, the potential for transfer through the food chain and management to minimise this problem. We hope this information provides a sound scientific basis to assist development of policies and regulations for controlling cadmium in the soil environment.

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Contributors. Foreword. Preface. 1. Cadmium in Soils and Plants; M.J. McLaughlin, B.R. Singh. 2. The Environmental Chemistry of Cadmium; S.J. Traina. 3. Chemistry of Cadmium in Soil Solution; P.A. Helmke. 4. Solid Phase Cadmium and the Reactions of Aqueous Cadmium with Soil Surfaces; T.H. Christensen, P.M. Haung. 5. Anthropogenic Additions of Cadmium to Soils; B.J. Alloway, E. Steinnes. 6. Mechanisms of Cadmium Uptake, Translocation and Deposition in Plants; R.M. Welch, W.A. Norvell. 7. Management Factors which Influence Cadmium Concentrations in Crops; C.A. Grant, et al. 8. Adverse Effects of Cadmium on Soil Microflora and Fauna; S.P. McGrath. 9. Soil Cadmium as a Threat to Human Health; R.L. Chaney, et al. 10. Cadmium in Soils and Plants; B.R. Singh, M.J. McLaughlin. Index.