Cadmium has no constructive purpose in the human body. It and its compounds are extremely toxic even in low concentrations, and will bioaccumulate in organisms and ecosystems. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cadmium, Cd, 48 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metallic Atomic mass 112. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To bioaccumulate literally means to accumulate in a biological system. ... An ecosystem, a contraction of ecological and system, refers to the collection of biotic and abiotic components and processes that comprise and govern the behavior of some defined subset of the biosphere. ...

The itai-itai disease ("ouch-ouch disease") was caused by cadmium poisoning. The itai-itai disease (Japanese:イタイイタイ病, literally: ouch-ouch-disease) (also known as ouchi disease) was the first cadmium poisoning in the world in Toyama prefecture, Japan in 1950. ...

Sources of exposure

In the 1950s and 1960s industrial exposure to cadmium was high. But as the toxic effects of cadmium became apparent, industrial limits on cadmium exposure have been reduced in most industrialized nations and many policy makers agree on the need to reduce exposure further. While working with cadmium it is important to do so under a fume hood to protect against dangerous fumes. Silver solder, for example, which contains cadmium, should be handled with care. Serious toxicity problems have resulted from long-term exposure to cadmium plating baths. A common modern fume hood. ...

Buildup of cadmium levels in the water, air, and soil has been occurring particularly in industrial areas. Environmental exposure to cadmium has been particularly problematic in Japan where many people have consumed rice that was grown in cadmium contaminated irrigation water.

Food is another source of cadmium. Plants may only contain small or moderate amounts in non-industrial areas, but high levels may be found in the liver and kidneys of adult animals.

Cigarettes are also a significant source of cadmium exposure. Although there is generally less cadmium in tobacco than in food, the lungs absorb cadmium more efficiently than the gut. This goes for marijuana as well as tobacco. A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ... Species Nicotiana acuminata Nicotiana alata Nicotiana attenuata Nicotiana benthamiana Nicotiana clevelandii Nicotiana excelsior Nicotiana forgetiana Nicotiana glauca Nicotiana glutinosa Nicotiana langsdorffii Nicotiana longiflora Nicotiana obtusifolia Nicotiana paniculata Nicotiana plumbagifolia Nicotiana quadrivalvis Nicotiana repanda Nicotiana rustica Nicotianasuaveolens Nicotiana sylvestris Nicotiana tabacum Nicotiana tomentosa Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005...

Aside from tobacco smokers, people who live near hazardous waste sites or factories that release cadmium into the air have the potential for exposure to cadmium in air. However, numerous state and federal regulations in the United States control the amount of cadmium that can be released to the air from waste sites and incinerators so that properly regulated sites are not hazardous. The general population and people living near hazardous waste sites may be exposed to cadmium in contaminated food, dust, or water from unregulated releases or accidental releases. Numerous regulations and use of pollution controls are enforced to prevent such releases. Hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment and generally exhibits one or more of these characteristics: ignitability corrosivity reactivity toxicity Generally, toxicity is quantified through the use of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure or TCLP test, as required by EPA. Hazardous... This article needs cleanup. ... After just three years of use dust has blocked this laptop heat sink, making the computer unusable Dust is a general name for minute solid particles with diameters less than 500 micrometers (otherwise, see sand or granulates) and, more generally, for finely divided matter. ... Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. ...

Workers can be exposed to cadmium in air from the smelting and refining of metals, or from the air in plants that make cadmium products such as batteries, coatings, or plastics. Workers can also be exposed when soldering or welding metal that contains cadmium. Approximately 512,000 workers in the United States are in environments each year where a cadmium exposure may occur. Regulations that set permissible levels of exposure, however, are enforced to protect workers and to make sure that levels of cadmium in the air are considerably below levels thought to result in harmful effects. Electric phosphate smelting furnace in a TVA chemical plant (1942) Chemical reduction, or smelting, is a form of extractive metallurgy. ... For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ... Four double-A batteries In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. ... The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...

Some sources of phosphate in fertilizers contain Cadmium in amounts of up to 100 mg/kg^gundresen[1], which can lead to an increase in the concentration of Cadmium in soil. (for example in New Zealand)^[2] Nickel-cadmium batteries are one of the most popular and most common cadmium-based products. Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic hydrogenphosphate anion (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ... Fertilizers are chemicals given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil or by foliar spraying. ... The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a popular type of rechargeable battery for portable electronics and toys using the metals nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) as the active chemicals. ...

Clinical effects

Acute exposure to cadmium fumes may cause flu like symptoms including chills, fever, and muscle ache. Symptoms may resolve after a week if there is no respiratory damage. More severe exposures can cause tracheo-bronchitis, pneumonitis, and pulmonary edema. Symptoms of inflammation may start hours after the exposure and include cough, dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, headache, dizziness, weakness, fever, chills, and chest pain.

Inhaling cadmium-laden dust quickly leads to respiratory tract and kidney problems which can be fatal (often from renal failure). Ingestion of any significant amount of cadmium causes immediate poisoning and damage to the liver and the kidneys. Compounds containing cadmium are also carcinogenic. In humans the respiratory tract is the part of the anatomy that has to do with the process of respiration or breathing. ... It has been suggested that Renal anomalies and Renal plasma threshold be merged into this article or section. ... Renal failure is the condition in which the kidneys fail to function properly. ... The liver is an organ in some animals, including mammals (and therefore humans), birds, and reptiles. ... The term carcinogen refers to any form of substance, radionuclide or radiation which is an agent in the promotion or direct involvement in the facilitation of cancer or genomic instability due to the disruption or damage of cellular metabolic changes. ...

The bones become soft (osteomalacia), lose bone mass and become weaker (osteoporosis). This causes the pain in the joints and the back, and also increases the risk of fractures. In extreme cases of cadmium poisoning, the mere body weight causes a fracture. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. ...

The kidneys lose their function to remove acids from the blood in proximal renal tubular dysfunction. The kidney damage inflicted by cadmium poisoning is irreversible and does not heal over time. The proximal renal tubular dysfunction creates low phosphate levels in the blood (hypophosphatemia), causing muscle weakness and sometimes coma. The dysfunction also causes gout, a form of arthritis due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints because of high acidity of the blood (hyperuricemia). Another side effect is increased levels of chloride in the blood (hyperchloremia). The kidneys can also shrink up to 30%. Hypophosphatemia is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally depleted level of phosphate in the blood. ... Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... Acidity is a controversial novelette written for the popular South Asian website Chowk. ... Hyperuricemia is the presence of high levels of uric acid in the blood. ... The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion (negatively-charged ion) Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and are also called chlorides. ... Hyperchloremia is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally elevated level of the chloride ion in the blood. ...

Other patients lose their sense of smell (anosmia). Anosmia is the lack of olfactory, or a loss of the ability to smell. ...

References

1. ↑ Syers JK, Mackay AD, Brown MW, Currie CD (1986). "Chemical and physical characteristics of phosphate rock materials of varying reactivity". J Sci Food Agric 37: 1057-1064. 
2. ↑ Trueman NA (1965). "The phosphate, volcanic and carbonate rocks of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean)". J Geol Soc Aust 12: 261-286. 
3. ↑ Taylor MD (1997). "Accumulation of Cadmium derived from fertilisers in New Zealand soils". Science of Total Environment 208: 123-126. 

External links

• National Pollutant Inventory - Cadmium and compounds
• http://www.canoshweb.org/odp/html/cadmium.htm