Cadmium poisoning: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

By Cristiano Antonino On May 29, 2022

Cadmium is a metal used in batteries, solar cells, alloys, pigments, and more. Cadmium poisoning occurs when someone ingests or inhales contaminated food, water, or air

If you come into contact with toxic levels of cadmium, you may experience respiratory or digestive effects depending on whether you inhaled or ingested the substance.1

Cadmium Poisoning Symptoms

Symptoms of cadmium poisoning differ depending on whether you inhaled or ingested the metal.

If you ingest contaminated food or water that contains cadmium, you may experience:

Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain and cramping
Tenesmus: A sensation that you need to have a bowel movement, but you don’t actually need to defecate2

A person who inhales cadmium may experience the following symptoms about four to 10 hours after initial exposure:

Flu-like symptoms
Chest pain
Coughing
Shortness of breath

These symptoms eventually lead to severe respiratory complications, including pulmonary edema (the air sacs in the lungs fill with fluid) and blood clots.2

Causes of Cadmium Poisoning

Exposure to cadmium through the air is unlikely to happen unless you work in an industry that specifically uses cadmium. However, cigarette smoking can also expose you to cadmium over the long term.3

People who work in cadmium-related industries may inhale cadmium because of dust or fumes in the work area.

People in these industries may also contaminate food and water sources by not washing their hands or removing their clothes when going from their work area to their break area or home.4

A regular person is more likely to be poisoned with cadmium through contaminated food or water.

This typically happens due to mining and smelting (heat-based extraction of metal from ore) industries contaminating nearby soil or water, allowing the metal to enter the food chain.

Some plants, like tobacco, are more likely to take up cadmium from the soil than others.

Other foods that may contain elevated levels of cadmium include:

Mushrooms
Shellfish
Organ meats
Rice
Cereal grains
Potatoes

However, the amount of toxicity varies depending on the area.

Since cadmium can travel long distances once airborne, it can be challenging to pinpoint the contaminating source.5

Water rarely contains toxic levels of cadmium unless there is a direct contamination source such as industrial wastewater or hazardous waste dumping.

Other sources of cadmium include:

Phosphate fertilizers
Sewage sludge
Batteries
Plating
Plastics
Pigments
Burning of fossil fuels5

Diagnosis of Cadmium Poisoning

To diagnose cadmium poisoning, your doctor will ask you about:

Your medical history
Your symptoms
Whether you have any risk factors for cadmium toxicity
Whether you think you’ve been exposed to cadmium
How you were exposed to cadmium
Further testing may include blood and urine tests along with nail and hair analysis.6

Treatment for Cadmium Poisoning

Since there is no antidote for cadmium poisoning, treatment for cadmium poisoning involves managing the symptoms that arise, such as respiratory distress.

In the case of acute poisoning, a doctor may:7

Give you intravenous (IV) fluids to rehydrate you
Provide supplemental oxygen
Put you on a ventilator to help you breathe
Encourage vomiting if you’ve ingested cadmium
Perform gastric lavage (also called stomach pumping, a tube is passed down the throat to the stomach, fluids are introduced and then removed)

Sometimes, exposure occurs over a long period of time.

In the case of chronic exposure, preventative measures are vital.

These include:7

Making sure there’s adequate ventilation in the workspace
Consistently wearing protective equipment
Ensuring the work area is free of dust
Removing clothing and showering after exiting the work area
Avoiding eating or drinking in the workspace
Frequent and thorough handwashing between working and eating or drinking

Prognosis

People can recover from acute cadmium poisoning by ingestion and experience no long-term side effects.

However, in cases where a person ingests a high enough amount of cadmium, they may experience gastrointestinal bleeding, necrosis (tissue death) of the liver and kidneys, heart problems, and metabolic acidosis (upset of the body’s acid-base balance).2

The prognosis is even more serious for people who inhale high concentrations of cadmium, even for just a brief period.

In such cases, inhalation may be fatal. Thankfully, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this rarely occurs.2

In the case of long-term cadmium exposure, people may experience a host of adverse effects such as organ damage and cancer.8

Other potential chronic effects include:

Kidney disease
Lung disease
Immune system problems
Nervous system problems
Fragile bones
Low birthweight
Increased risk of lung cancer9

Summary

Cadmium is a naturally-occurring metal. Cadmium poisoning involves ingesting or breathing in contaminated food, drinks, or air.

You’re more likely to experience acute or chronic cadmium poisoning if you work in specific industries such as mining and smelting.

References:

United States Department of Labor. Cadmium.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry. Cadmium toxicity: acute effects.
Genchi G, Sinicropi MS, Lauria G, Carocci A, Catalano A. The effects of cadmium toxicity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(11):3782. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17113782
National Cancer Institute. Cadmium.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Cadmium toxicity: where found.
Beth Israel Lahey Health Winchester Hospital. Cadmium toxicity.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Cadmium toxicity: treatment.
Rafati-Rahimzadeh M, Rafati-Rahimzadeh M, Kazemi S, Moghadamnia A. Cadmium toxicity and treatment: an update. Caspian J Intern Med. 2017;8(3):135-145. doi:10.22088/cjim.8.3.135
Environmental Protection Agency. Cadmium compounds.