... coatings and plating, and as stabilizers for plastics, most of the remaining quarters. Cadmium was used in particular for electroplating steel ... it is in fertilizers and pesticides.Of course, a very large amount of cadmium in the environment are released, about 25,000 ... rivers through weathering of rocks and some cadmium in the air, released by forest fires and volcanoes. The rest of the cadmium is ...