Monthly deposition of cadmium in rural and industrial areas of Germany (Bayern, Pfalz, Ruhr district) and its influences upon an agricultural model system

Abstract Monthly depositions of cadmium were collected by a modified Bergerhoff method and measured by AAS during a 3-year period in rural areas of the Pfalz and in an industrial area of the Ruhr district. Another one year period included measurements in rural areas of southern Bavaria and on a Dutch island. The log-normally distributed deposition rates of cadmium at the rural areas in southern Germany amounted to only 20% of those of the industrial district. The depositions on the Dutch island were twice as high as the depositions on the rural areas of southern Germany. The monthly cadmium deposition rates show only little periodical fluctuation during the year and scatter around more or less constant median values of 25 and 120 μg · m −2 · month −1 at the rural and industrial areas, respectively. When open air mass cultures of algae were taken as an agricultural model, the organisms, depending on their growth rate, accumulated 0.4–4.0 ppm of cadmium (dry matter based). The course of the cadmium accumulation reflects the deposition rate of the area where the algae were grown. No growth depression of the algae due to cadmium can be observed under the given deposition rates.