title: Heavy metals--geochemical bogey men?
abstract: Heavy metals is a loose term usually used to indicate environmentally "bad" metals. It is poorly defined with a multitude of often contradictory definitions based on density, atomic weight, atomic number or other properties of the elements or their compounds. Alternative, scientifically rigorous definitions exist for subgroups of metals and should be used instead.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6DW, UK. m.e.hodson@reading.ac.uk
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hodson
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D019216:Metals, Heavy