Cadmium out, uranium in: reading the pivot in phosphates
摘要
Cadmium (Cd) and uranium (U) in phosphate fertilizers illustrate a core tension in nutrient cycling: inputs required for crop productivity can also deliver persistent contaminants to soils and the food chain. Since 2022, the EU limits Cd at 60 mg Cd kg−1 P2O5 (≈ 137 mg Cd kg−1 P), defines a voluntary “low-cadmium” label at 20 mg Cd kg−1 P2O5 (≈ 46 mg Cd kg−1 P), and will reassess these limits in 2026, explicitly including uranium risk. At the same time, a major shift toward globally marketed low-cadmium phosphate fertilizers is underway. This moves the central question from whether stricter cadmium limits threaten phosphate fertilizer supply to whether low-Cd product claims are credible, verifiable, and likely to hold through future regulatory review.This Perspective examines the practical conditions under which the current low-cadmium transition may prove both durable and credible, including source variability, plant-level purification and possible uranium co-removal, phosphogypsum handling, exposure pathways linking fertilizer composition to soil accumulation and dietary intake, and the disclosure and verification measures needed to substantiate fertilizer industry claims.