the.com/cadmium
the soft silver poison that paints sunsets and quietly wrecks kidneys.
means A soft, bluish-white metallic element (symbol Cd, atomic number 48) used in pigments, batteries, and plating, prized for its bright colors but highly toxic to humans.
from Named in the early 19th century by its German discoverer from 'cadmia,' the old Latin word for zinc ore and calamine — since cadmium was first spotted lurking as an impurity in zinc compounds. 'Cadmia' in turn traces back to the Greek 'kadmeia,' the earth or ore associated with Kadmos, the legendary founder of Thebes, who myth credits with bringing metalworking (and the alphabet) to Greece. So the poison metal carries a hero's name down the millennia.
- named after
- calamine, an old zinc ore
- artist's friend
- gives paint brilliant yellows, oranges, reds
- body damage
- accumulates in kidneys over decades
- battery duty
- powered rechargeable nickel-cadmium cells
- itai-itai
- caused a bone-crushing disease in Japan
itai-itai disease — cadmium poisoning in toyama, japan affecting 1000s from 1912-1968 mining operations
greenockite — cadmium sulfide mineral first identified in scotland, primary natural cadmium ore
ni-cad battery — nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery widely used in 1960s-2000s before lithium replaced it