Cadmium concentration in rice eaten by farmers in the Jinzu River Basin (Japanese)

Abstract

Rice samples were collected from 77 farm houses in and around the district where ''Itai itai'' disease is endemic. The Cd concentration of rice samples collected from the endemic district was higher than that in those from non endemic district, moreover, within the endemic district the Cd concentration in rice from the most highly endemic areas was higher than in that from other parts of the district. High correlation coefficients were observed between Cd concentration in rice field soil and that in rice, and also between Cd levels in the rice and the urinary abnormalities of the inhabitants. In the endemic district, the Cd content of rice collected from the farm houses where family members had a high incidence of proteinuria was higher than that from farm houses where the family members had no proteinuria. It was concluded that Cd in rice is one of the health hazards in this district.