The authors have previously reported on the uptake and distribution of cadmium in unionids, experimentally exposed to cadmium chloride. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the effect of metal chelation on cadmium kinetics, including metal elimination in the post-exposure phase. Generally, chelation of ionic metal by natural substances like humic acids or by synthetic compounds like EDTA decreases its environmental toxicity through a diminished rate of uptake, as compared with the free ion. The influences of metal chelation on bioconcentration and on toxicity do not always run parallel. To their knowledge, there are no data on the effect of chelation on metal kinetics in freshwater clams. Data on rates of cadmium elimination from aquatic invertebrates are highly divergent, but Cd excretion is invariably found to be smaller than uptake.