11. Environment and health

On a global scale, human activities disperse around 15 tonnes of bismuth into the environment every year.

In soils, the growing use of bismuth-containing fungicides and fertilizers is contributing to a gradual increase in bismuth content in cultivated land. However, this pollution should remain negligible compared with the geochemical background.

In uncontaminated natural waters, bismuth concentrations in solution are very low, even undetectable, at around 0.004-0.02 μg/L: bismuth is in fact highly insoluble in water. Occasional contamination due to mining or industrial activity can, however, generate bismuth concentrations in excess of 150 μg/L.

Sediments containing inorganic bismuth compounds can be a source of contamination, as acidic waters bring bismuth into solution by attacking these compounds. Conventional...