Vanadium in the Environment, Part 1

Vanadium, the 21st most abundant element in the earth’s crust, is a shiny silvery soft metal mainly known for its corrosion resistance. The metal is used as an alloying agent for hard, temperature- and wear-resistant steels and other alloys, in glass production; in the manufacture of paint, pigments, and inks; in electronics, ceramics, magnetic tapes, superconductors, and as a catalyst in the pharmaceutical industry. This two-part volume in the Advances in Environmental Science and Technolog series features contributions from an international panel of experts who address the effects of vanadium exposure to aquatic and terrestrial environments, and examine the effects of vanadium on humans and wildlife. Part I is self-contained and explores the chemistry of vanadium, the effects of vanadium on the environment, the detection of vanadium, and its effects on lower life forms.

Author Biography

JEROME O. NRIAGU is Professor in the Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, School of Public Health, the University of Michigan, and an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo. For many years he was a research scientist with the National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario. He is the editor of the Wiley Series in Advances in Environmental Science and Technology and has edited, among many other volumes, Nickel and Human Health, Arsenic in the Environment, and Thallium in the Environment. Dr. Nriagu received BSc and DSc degrees from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, an MS from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD in geochemistry from the University of Toronto. He has published extensively in leading geochemical and environmental science journals and has received a number of awards for his work. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.