Cadmium as a respiratory toxicant

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6699290

Grose, E C; Graham, J A

Cadmium is a major respiratory toxicant as evidenced by numerous human and animal studies. Controlled animal inhalation studies provide supporting evidence to the associations observed in epidemiological studies that Cd has the potential to cause lung fibrosis, emphysema, cancer, and kidney disease after prolonged exposure. Shorter-term exposure studies indicate that mechanisms thought to be involved in several of these chronic disease states (especially fibrosis and emphysema) are acutely activated. The evidence of toxicity is sufficiently clear that a TLV has been set and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has named Cd as a Group B1 substance (probable human carcinogen). The risk to Cd exposure is enhanced by its chemical and physical properties that result in bioaccumulation. Thus, even a low-level exposure over long periods of time would be expected to reach doses that could be toxic.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (USA). Health Effects Research Lab.
• OSTI ID: 6699290
• Report Number(s): PB-87-146262/XAB; EPA-600/D-87/020
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CADMIUM
DISEASES
ELEMENTS
EMPHYSEMA
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
INHALATION
INTAKE
METALS
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
TOXICITY