Antimony in the Environment - 1st International Workshop

Antimony is a potentially toxic trace element whose environmental significance clearly outweighs the attention it has received to date. Researchers will discuss its implications for human and ecosystem health on the 1st International Workshop on "Antimony in the Environment".

The workshop will be held on May 16-19, 2005 at the Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the Heidelberg University. Its aim is to summarise the state-of-the-art of the knowledge about antimony in the environment. Sixty researchers from all over the world will discuss the chemical speciation of antimony in soil-water-plant-sediment systems, and the implications which this has for human and ecosystem health.
Most humans are now being chronically exposed to low levels of antimony in their food, water and air. Antimony and its compounds are regarded as pollutants of priority interest by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Council of the European Communities and are on the list of hazardous substances under the Basel convention restricting the transfer of hazardous wastes across borders.
Although, antimony is an important environmental contaminant, there has been very little in the way of comprehensive studies, especially when compared to other potentially toxic elements such as Pb., ,For more information on the event please see: http://umwelt-geochemie.uni-hd.de/antimon/index.htm