I have read many times here that silver is NOT a heavy metal, but researching for another reason I ran across this link that specifically lists silver as a "heavy metal", though it does not list silver as one of the "commonly found" toxic metals. So is silver a heavy metal or not? Anybody know its specific gravity? I am not about to give up my CS, but would like to be accurate when conversing with people who say silver is a heavy metal. I don't want to say is is not, if in fact it is............ paula http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-156.shtml#intro
There are 35 metals that concern us because of occupational or residential exposure; 23 of these are the heavy elements or "heavy metals": antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gallium, gold, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tellurium, thallium, tin, uranium, vanadium, and zinc (Glanze 1996)......... Definition of a Heavy Metal "Heavy metals" are chemical elements with a specific gravity that is at least 5 times the specific gravity of water. The specific gravity of water is 1 at 4°C (39°F). Simply stated, specific gravity is a measure of density of a given amount of a solid substance when it is compared to an equal amount of water. Some well-known toxic metallic elements with a specific gravity that is 5 or more times that of water are arsenic, 5.7; cadmium, 8.65; iron, 7.9; lead, 11.34; and mercury, 13.546 (Lide 1992). Commonly Encountered Toxic Heavy MetALS a.. Arsenic b.. Lead c.. Mercury d.. Cadmium e.. Iron f.. Aluminum
