22-658-4636 these two elements are likely. Yet, the awareness of their toxic properties seems to be limited, compared to that related to lead and mercury. 2. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND ROUTES OF EXPOSURE TO CADMIUM AND NICKEL COMPOUNDS 2.1. Chemical Properties of Cadmium Cadmium, element no. 48, belongs to the 12th group of the periodic table (together with zinc and mercury), due to its electron configuration [Kr]4d 10 5s 2. Natural cadmium is a mixture of eight isotopes with isotopic masses between 106 and 116. Its standard atomic weight is 112.41 Da. In its elemental metallic form Cd is soft and malleable at room temperature. It undergoes passivation in contact with oxygen, being covered with a layer of cadmium oxide. Chemistry of cadmium includes 0, +1 and +2 oxidation states, however, only Cd(II) compounds are stable under ambient conditions. In complexes Cd(II) coordination numbers vary from 2 to 8, with 4 (tetrahedral) and 6 (octahedral) being the most frequent ones [10]. The d-electron shell of Cd(II) is filled, therefore, its chemical behavior is similar to that of main group rather than transition metals. Cd(II) is a moderately soft metal ion, forming particularly strong bonds with thiolates, but can also interact effectively with oxygen and nitrogen donors [11, 12]. Consequently, CdS and CdO are the most important binary Cd(II) compounds. Thiolate Cd(II) complexes are tetrahedral, and isostructural with Zn(II) complexes [11, 13]. Higher coordination numbers are encountered in oxygen donor environments, by analogy to Ca(II) [11]. 2.2. Chemical Properties of Nickel Nickel, element no. 28 belongs to the 10th group of the periodic table (together with palladium and platinum), due to its electron configuration [Ar]3d 8 4s 2. Natural nickel is a mixture of five stable isotopes with isotopic masses between 58 and 64, with 58 and 60 being