Toxicology of Cadmium

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is unique among metals because of its diverse toxic effects, extremely protracted biological half-life (approximately 20–30 years in humans), low rate of excretion from the body, and predominant storage in soft tissues (primarily liver and kidney) rather than bone. The health hazards associated with cadmium exposure became known in the 1940s when FRiberg (1948) reported the occurrence of emphysema and proteinuria in workers exposed to cadmium dust. In the 1960s, cadmium was catapulted into the mainstream of metal toxicology research when cadmium was identified as the major etiological factor in itai-itai disease, a condition that afflicted Japanese women exposed to cadmium via their diet which contained cadmium-contaminated rice and water. Cadmium is an extremely toxic element of continuing concern because environmental levels have risen steadily due to continued worldwide anthropogenic mobilization. The mobilization has derived from past and current industrial and agricultural practices.