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It’s Time to Replace the Term “Heavy Metals” with “Potentially Toxic Elements” When Reporting Environmental Research

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Pourret

    (UniLaSalle, AGHYLE, 19 rue Pierre Waguet, 60000 Beauvais, France)

  • Andrew Hursthouse

    (School of Computing, Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, UK)

Abstract

Even if the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is relatively well defined, some controversial terms are still in use. Indeed, the term “heavy metal” is a common term used for decades in the natural sciences, and even more in environmental sciences, particularly in studies of pollution impacts. As the use of the term appears to have increased, we highlight the relevance of the use of the term “Potentially Toxic Element(s)”, which needs more explicit endorsement, and we illustrate the chemical elements that need to be considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Pourret & Andrew Hursthouse, 2019. "It’s Time to Replace the Term “Heavy Metals” with “Potentially Toxic Elements” When Reporting Environmental Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-6, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:22:p:4446-:d:286278
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ranjna Kaundal & Vipin Parkash & Supriti Paul & Meghna Thapa, 2023. "Synergism of plant microbe interactions for remediation of potentially toxic elements," Journal of Forest Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(4), pages 127-143.
    2. Luigi Gallini & Andrew Hursthouse & Antonio Scopa, 2021. "Development and Validation of a Box and Flux Model to Describe Major, Trace and Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Scottish Soils," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Giovanni Gallo & Rosanna Puopolo & Miriam Carbonaro & Emanuela Maresca & Gabriella Fiorentino, 2021. "Extremophiles, a Nifty Tool to Face Environmental Pollution: From Exploitation of Metabolism to Genome Engineering," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-24, May.
    4. Zhao Liu & Ye Kuang & Shengtao Lan & Wenjia Cao & Ziqi Yan & Li Chen & Qianlong Chen & Qi Feng & Hong Zhou, 2021. "Pollution Distribution of Potentially Toxic Elements in a Karstic River Affected by Manganese Mining in Changyang, Western Hubei, Central China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Ling Yi & Bai Gao & Haiyan Liu & Yanhong Zhang & Chaochao Du & Yanmei Li, 2020. "Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-13, January.

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