Do you know exactly what cadmium is dangerous for? The effect of cadmium on the human body

Cadmium is a heavy metal that is obtained from the smelting of other metals such as copper, zinc or lead.

Cadmium is widely used in the production of nickel-cadmium batteries and is also found in cigarette smoke. Continuous exposure to cadmium results in very serious consequences for human health, including serious illnesses kidneys and lungs.

FROM greatest risk cadmium poisoning is associated with the activities of metallurgists, welders and workers employed in the production of batteries, in the electronics and textile industries. Each of us has nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries - they are used in mobile phones and many other electronic devices. Cadmium is used in the manufacture of certain paints, plastics, and metal coatings. Some fertilized soils can also contain large amounts of this toxic metal. Inhaling daily cigarette smoke we expose ourselves to cadmium.

Sources and risk factors for cadmium poisoning
Without a doubt, the main source of poisoning is work in industry.

The following are just some of the activities that increase the risk of cadmium poisoning:

Battery production.
Soldering electronic parts.
Mining industry.
Welding.
Paint production.
Plastic production.
Colored glass production.
Textile production.
Jewelry business.
Waste recycling.

Outside the workplace, cadmium can enter the body from the following sources:

Cigarette smoke. It has long been no secret that cigarettes contain traces of cadmium, and the smoker inhales particles of this metal along with smoke. On average, a smoker receives twice as much cadmium as non-smoker. Second hand smoke also poses a threat.
Products. Leafy vegetables, potatoes and cereals grown in contaminated soil with high content cadmium can be a source of problems. Kidneys and livers of animals and marine life may contain more cadmium than any other products.
Industrial zones. Some industrial plants, especially metallurgical ones, emit large amounts of cadmium into the atmosphere. Living near such enterprises automatically puts you at risk.
fertilized soils. In some agricultural areas, phosphate fertilizers containing a small amount of cadmium. Any products obtained from this land can be potentially dangerous.

The effect of cadmium on the body
For the general population, the likelihood of intoxication with this metal is very low. The quantities that average person receives day by day are insufficient to cause symptoms of poisoning.

The effects of cadmium on the body are highly dependent on the route of administration and the dose received of this substance, the duration of exposure and the state of health of the person. As soon as cadmium enters our body, it begins to accumulate in the kidneys and liver, and then it is very slowly excreted from the body in the urine.

1. Cadmium inhalation.
Inhalation through the lungs is the main route by which cadmium enters the body of industrial workers. Strict precautions must be taken to prevent exposure to cadmium. Many enterprises control the content of cadmium in the air, use effective means protection of workers. Neglect of the rules on the part of the management of enterprises and the workers themselves leads to sad consequences.

Prolonged inhalation of cadmium begins to manifest symptoms similar to a cold: fever, chills, muscle pain. Later, lung damage develops: shortness of breath, chest pain, cough. AT severe cases damage to the lungs leads to the death of the patient.

Inhalation of air containing small amounts of cadmium gradually leads to kidney disease and osteoporosis. Increased risk of lung cancer.

2. The use of cadmium with food.
Drinking water and foods contaminated with cadmium sometimes causes stomach irritation, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Flu-like symptoms may also occur; swelling of the larynx and tingling in the hands.

After eating contaminated food, only a small amount of cadmium remains in the body. But if you are eating long time, this can lead to disruption of the kidneys and weakening bone tissue. Long-term use cadmium in large doses ah causes damage to the kidneys, liver, heart, and in severe cases leads to death.

The effect of cadmium on children
The toxic effects of cadmium in children are similar to those in adults. It is important to know that a small amount of cadmium penetrates into breast milk. Therefore, breastfeeding mothers should be especially careful.

Women who have been exposed to cadmium poisoning in the workplace may have low birth weight babies. Cadmium, which is in environment, is unlikely to have such an effect.

Carcinogenic properties of cadmium

Cadmium and its compounds are classified as carcinogens, but there is no evidence that low levels of cadmium in the environment can cause cancer. Inhalation of cadmium particles in the workplace is indeed associated with a risk of lung cancer, but eating contaminated food is not considered a risk factor for lung cancer.

Diagnosis and treatment of cadmium poisoning
If you work with cadmium and suspect cadmium toxicity, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Urine and blood tests can show the amount of cadmium in the body. Your doctor may also test your kidney and liver function. Nail and hair tests for cadmium are not considered reliable.

There is no specific treatment for cadmium poisoning. Patients are given supportive care. The most important step in the treatment of such patients is to reduce the risk of exposure to cadmium in the future.

Reducing the risk of cadmium poisoning
Risk mitigation suggestions may include:

Changing jobs and giving up dangerous hobbies like soldering.
Mandatory use of protective equipment and medical examinations. If your job or hobby involves exposure to cadmium, check with your doctor regularly.
healthy, balanced diet with a limited content of shellfish, sea fish, liver and kidneys of animals.
To give up smoking. Cigarettes contain cadmium, so smoking is harmful to the body, even if it is secondhand smoke.

A little about cadmium batteries
Ordinary alkaline batteries do not contain cadmium. But nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) rechargeable batteries can be potentially dangerous.

The distribution of cadmium in the environment is local. It enters the environment with waste from metallurgical industries, sewage electroplating industries (after cadmium plating), other industries that use cadmium-containing stabilizers, pigments, paints and as a result of the use of phosphate fertilizers. In addition, cadmium is present in the air of large cities due to abrasion of tires, erosion of certain types of plastic products, paints and adhesives.

AT drinking water cadmium enters as a result of pollution of water sources by industrial discharges, with reagents used at the stage of water treatment, as well as as a result of migration from water supply structures. The proportion of cadmium entering the body with water, in total daily dose is 5–10%.

The normative content of cadmium in the atmospheric air is 0.3 µg/m3, in the water of water sources - 0.001 mg/l, in the soils - sandy and sandy loamy acidic and neutral 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg, respectively. According to WHO recommendations allowable level cadmium intake is 7 mcg/kg of body weight per week.

In Russia, the largest sources of cadmium emissions into the atmospheric air are metallurgical plants. The amount of cadmium emissions into the air basin currently does not exceed 5 tons per year. The systematic determination of its content in the air is carried out in 50 cities of Russia. It has been established that the average annual concentration of this metal is at the level of 0.1 µg/m 3 . In places where cadmium sources of pollution are located, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of its excessive intake with agricultural products grown on contaminated soils.

When determining the impact of cadmium on the health of the population, biomonitoring is widely used. The main diagnostic medium is urine, with which cadmium is excreted from the body. For the first time, the acceptable level of cadmium in urine (9 μg / l) was established by the Japanese Ministry of Health in 1970. Subsequently, the Association of Occupational Hygienists of the United States proposed introducing more low rate– 5 µg/g creatinine (7 µg/l urine) and 5 µg/l blood.

The calculation of the degree of absorption of cadmium by the body indicates the dominant role of the inhalation route of intake. Removal of cadmium is slow. The period of its biological half-life in the body ranges from 15 to 47 years. The main amount of cadmium is excreted from the body with urine (1–2 μg/day) and feces (10–50 μg/day).

The amount of cadmium entering the human body with air in unpolluted areas, where its content does not exceed 1 μg/m 3, is less than 1% of the daily dose.

Up to 50% of cadmium that enters the body by inhalation settles in the lungs. The degree of absorption of cadmium by the lungs depends on the solubility of the compound, its dispersion and functional state respiratory organs. In the gastrointestinal tract, the absorption of cadmium is on average 5%, so its amount that actually enters the tissues of the body is much less than that supplied with food.

The age of a person influences the retention of cadmium in the body. In children and adolescents, the degree of its absorption is 5 times higher than in adults. Cadmium is absorbed through the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, after a few minutes it is found in the blood, but its level rapidly decreases during the first day.

An additional source of cadmium in the body is smoking. One cigarette contains 1–2 micrograms of cadmium, and about 10% of it enters the respiratory system. Street smokers up to 30 cigarettes a day accumulate 13-52 micrograms of cadmium in the body over 40 years, which exceeds its amount from food.

Cadmium has carcinogenic (group 2A), gonadotropic, embryotropic, mutagenic and nephrotoxic effects. The Real Threat adverse impact per population, even low levels pollution is associated with a high biological cumulation of this metal. The consequences of short contact with high concentrations of cadmium in the air of the working area lead to pulmonary fibrosis, persistent impairment of pulmonary and hepatic functions.

The target organs of cadmium are the lungs, liver, kidneys, Bone marrow, sperm, tubular bones and partly the spleen. Cadmium is deposited in the liver and kidneys, where it contains up to 30% of total in the body. Comparative determination of cadmium content in renal tissue people who lived in the 19th century, and those who died of various diseases at the end of the 20th century, showed that the concentration of cadmium in the kidneys of representatives of the 20th century. 4 times higher (Tetior A.N., 2008).

The most severe form chronic poisoning cadmium is the itai-itai disease, first discovered in 1946 in Japan. For many years, the population subsisted on rice grown in fields irrigated with water from a river that had been exposed to cadmium from the mine. Its concentration in rice, as it turned out, reached 1 μg / g, and intake in the body exceeded 300 μg. Since the disease mainly affected women over 45 years of age who had multiple pregnancies, it is likely that the lack of vitamin D and calcium, as well as depletion of the body during pregnancy, were predisposing pathogenetic factors for the onset of this disease. Itai-itai is characterized by a deformation of the skeleton with a noticeable decrease in height, accompanied by pain in the lower back and leg muscles, and a duck-like gait. And kidney damage is similar to the symptoms that are noted in chronic occupational cadmium poisoning.

Changes in kidney function when exposed to cadmium have been found by researchers in other parts of the world as well. In Belgium (province of Liege), impaired renal function (up to deaths) in women living near a metallurgical plant. Certain disorders of kidney function were identified by K. A. Bushtueva, B. A. Revich, L. E. Bezpalko (1989) and in Russian women - residents of Vladikavkaz.

The carcinogenic effect of cadmium is manifested in an increase in the incidence of cancer. prostate at workers of cadmium productions. Lifetime carcinogenic risk when exposed to cadmium concentration of 1 μg/m 3 is 1.8-10-3 (Revich B.A., 2002).

Cadmium

The distribution of cadmium in the environment is local. It enters the environment with waste from metallurgical industries, with wastewater from electroplating industries (after cadmium plating), other industries that use cadmium-containing stabilizers, pigments, paints, and as a result of the use of phosphate fertilizers. In addition, cadmium is present in the air of large cities due to abrasion of tires, erosion of certain types of plastic products, paints and adhesives.

Cadmium enters drinking water due to pollution of water sources by industrial discharges, with reagents used at the stage of water treatment, and also as a result of migration from water supply structures. The proportion of cadmium entering the body with water in the total daily dose is 5-10%.

The normative content of cadmium in the atmospheric air is 0.3 µg/m 3 , in the water of water sources - 0.001 mg/l, in the soils - sandy and sandy loamy acidic and neutral 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg, respectively. According to WHO recommendations, the acceptable level of cadmium intake is 7 µg/kg of body weight per week.

When determining the impact of cadmium on the health of the population, biomonitoring is widely used. The main diagnostic medium is urine, with which cadmium is excreted from the body. For the first time, the permissible level of cadmium in urine (9 μg / l) was established by the Ministry of Health of Japan in 1970. Subsequently, the Association of Occupational Hygienists of the United States proposed to introduce a lower level - 5 μg / g creatinine (7 μg / l urine) and 5 μg / l blood.

The amount of cadmium that enters the human body with air in unpolluted areas, where its content does not exceed 1 μg / m 3, is less than 1% from the daily dose.

Up to 50% of cadmium that enters the body by inhalation settles in the lungs. The degree of absorption of cadmium by the lungs depends on the solubility of the compound, its dispersion and the functional state of the respiratory organs. In the gastrointestinal tract, the absorption of cadmium is on average 5%, so its amount that actually enters the tissues of the body is much less than that supplied with food.

The age of a person influences the retention of cadmium in the body. In children and adolescents, the degree of its absorption is 5 times higher than in adults. Cadmium, being absorbed through the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, is found in the blood after a few minutes, but its level rapidly decreases during the first day.

An additional source of cadmium in the body is smoking. One cigarette contains 1-2 micrograms of cadmium, and about 10% of it enters the respiratory system. Street smokers up to 30 cigarettes a day accumulate 13-52 micrograms of cadmium in the body over 40 years, which exceeds its amount from food.

Cadmium has carcinogenic (group 2A), gonadotropic, embryotropic, mutagenic and nephrotoxic effects. The real threat of adverse effects on the population, even at low levels of pollution, is associated with a high biological accumulation of this metal. Consequences of short contact with high concentrations cadmium in the air of the working area lead to pulmonary fibrosis, persistent impairment of pulmonary and hepatic functions.

The target organs of cadmium are the lungs, liver, kidneys, bone marrow, sperm, tubular bones, and partly the spleen. Cadmium is deposited in the liver and kidneys, where it contains up to 30% of the total amount in the body. A comparative determination of the cadmium content in the kidney tissue of people who lived in the 19th century and those who died from various diseases at the end of the 20th century showed that the concentration of cadmium in the kidneys of representatives of the 20th century. 4 times higher (Tetior A.N., 2008).

The most severe form of chronic cadmium poisoning is itai-itai disease, first discovered in 1946 in Japan. For many years, the population subsisted on rice grown in fields irrigated with water from a river that had been exposed to cadmium from the mine. Its concentration in rice, as it turned out, reached 1 μg / g, and intake in the body exceeded 300 μg. Since the disease mainly affected women over 45 years of age who had multiple pregnancies, it is likely that the lack of vitamin D and calcium, as well as depletion of the body during pregnancy, were predisposing pathogenetic factors for the onset of this disease. Itai-itai is characterized by a deformation of the skeleton with a noticeable decrease in height, accompanied by pain in the lower back and leg muscles, and a duck-like gait. And kidney damage is similar to the symptoms that are noted in chronic occupational cadmium poisoning.

Changes in kidney function when exposed to cadmium have been found by researchers in other parts of the world as well. In Belgium (Liege province), kidney dysfunction (up to death) was noted in women living near a metallurgical plant. Certain disorders of kidney function were identified by K.A. Bushtueva, B.A. Revich, L.E. Bezpalko (1989) and among Russian women - residents of Vladikavkaz.

The carcinogenic effect of cadmium is manifested in an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer in cadmium workers. Lifetime carcinogenic risk when exposed to cadmium concentration of 1 µg/m 3 is 1.8-10~3 (Revich B.A., 2002).

Cadmium, translated from Greek, means "zinc ore". This "dangerous" element is a soft silver-white metal. It is mainly used in low-melting alloys, in nuclear power and as protective coatings. Cadmium is obtained as by-product from the processing of zinc ore. In this article, Cadmium in the Human Body, we will talk in more detail about this element and how it affects health and the human body as a whole.

Large amounts of cadmium are hazardous to health. You can get poisoned by cadmium if you consume water, vegetables and grains growing near metallurgical enterprises and oil refineries. The main signs of cadmium poisoning include:

Unbearable muscle pain
Skeletal deformities
Bone fractures (cadmium leaches calcium from the body)
Violations of the functions of internal organs

In excess in the body, cadmium contributes to the development of malignant tumors.

Cadmium is excreted in urine and feces, about 48 mg of this element is excreted from the body per day. Cadmium accumulates mainly in the kidneys and liver, a small amount accumulates in the blood.

There is a sad pattern: the better the industry is developed in the country, the greater the amount of cadmium accumulates in the soil. Cadmium reacts with superphosphates and is easily absorbed by plants in large enough quantities, if the soil contains little superphosphates, then cadmium is practically not absorbed, or it is absorbed, but in a minimal amount.

Cadmium is one of the most toxic substances, it belongs to the second class of danger. Like most other heavy metals, cadmium tends to accumulate in the body. Its half-life is 10-35 years. After 50 years, its content in the body can be no more than 30-50 mg. The main storage of this element is the kidneys, they accumulate approximately 30-60%, the second place is taken by the liver - 20-25%. In addition, cadmium accumulates in tubular bones, pancreas, spleen and other tissues and organs.

In the body, cadmium is found predominantly in bound state: most often it interacts with metallothionein proteins, which provide natural protection for the body, in addition, according to latest research, cadmium also binds to alpha-2 globulin, in this form cadmium is less toxic, although not harmless. Bound cadmium, accumulating in the body for years, can cause considerable harm to health, in particular, it can lead to impaired functioning of the kidneys and, as a result, to an increased likelihood of kidney stones. In addition, some of the cadmium in the human body is in ionic form, which is even more toxic. Cadmium is similar in properties to zinc, so it can easily replace it in a number of biochemical reactions, for example, it can act as a pseudo-activator, or, on the contrary, as an inhibitor of zinc-containing enzymes and proteins, and there are about two hundred of them in the body.

How to protect the body from the effects of cadmium?

To protect the body from dangerous impact of this chemical element, it is necessary to eliminate the main causes of its entry into the soil and into the atmosphere. First of all, it is necessary to provide all industrial enterprises, without exception, with high-quality treatment facilities, despite their rather impressive high cost. Fields, lakes, rivers, and, of course, housing should be located at a considerable distance from industrial facilities. Appropriate measures must be taken to combat smoking. In addition, the absorption of cadmium can be slightly reduced by eating selenium, which, in fact, is an antidote to most heavy metals.

But it should be borne in mind that the use of products containing selenium can reduce the sulfur content, thereby the level of cadmium in the body will again become dangerous. Increased dose This trace element contributes to metabolic disorders. So, with an excess of cadmium, higher average norm, which is 50 mcg, may be disturbed salt metabolism: calcium, iron, copper, magnesium and zinc. There is an antagonism between iron and cadmium, and it is for this reason that geochemical studies must predict nutritional value products, given the presence of antagonistic elements.

The main problems associated with excess cadmium content

Cadmium can cause toxic manifestations of moderate and moderate severity. It affects the kidneys, as a result of excessive cadmium content in the body, there is an increase blood pressure. This element is not as toxic as mercury or lead because it cannot penetrate the head and spinal cord person.

To reduce the toxicity of this chemical element and remove it from the organs and tissues of the body in extremely severe cases, it is possible by introducing a large number vitamins intravenously. In addition, preparations containing copper, zinc, selenium and iron are prescribed.

Try to avoid eating refined and contaminated seafood, but at the same time, be aware of your zinc content.

Acute food poisoning when using cadmium, it occurs as a result of the intake of large doses of this element with water (15 mg) or food (30 mg) into the human body. The main symptoms of cadmium poisoning are considered to be the appearance of vomiting, pain and convulsions in epigastric region. Much poisoning is more dangerous data chemical element by inhalation of cadmium-containing dust or cadmium fumes. Symptoms given poisoning is headache, pulmonary edema, vomiting or nausea, weakness, diarrhea, chills. Such poisoning in some cases ends in death.

Cadmium is considered the culprit in the development of lesions nervous system, kidneys, genital organs in men and women. In addition, cadmium is able to increase blood pressure, and some researchers argue that cadmium salts are carcinogenic products. Most exposed to cadmium intoxication female part population, in particular those women who have a lack of calcium and iron in the body. Usually similar states observed during pregnancy, during breastfeeding, or as a result of blood loss during critical days. Of men, the risk group for cadmium poisoning is primarily smokers: one pack of cigarettes contains approximately 3-4 micrograms, of which 1 microgram is completely absorbed by the body. Calcium, iron, zinc can interfere with the absorption of cadmium, but you should not abuse these microelements, otherwise you can achieve their overdose.

Let us take a rice plant, which is predisposed to draw arsene from the soil and water and accumulate it. The poisonous semi-metal is found in nature, but can also penetrate food due to contamination. Heavy metal cadmium naturally gets into grain crops, though in a small concentration. Anorganic arsenic is carcinogenic, i.e. capable of causing cancer. The same applies to acrylamide, which is formed in products from carbohydrates under the influence of high temperatures(fried potatoes, rice waffles, etc.). Cadmium becomes harmful to the kidneys and in the form of inhalation becomes carcinogenic to the body.

A few years ago, according to Eco-test in September 2009, illegal genetically manipulated rice was discovered in Russian rice products which was not even approved for consumption. Since rice is still found during routine control food products, at the direction of the Eco-test, studies were carried out in laboratories for the presence of genetically manipulated products. In those countries where rice is grown, it is humid and warm, and therefore mold fungi ideal conditions for reproduction. Therefore, they also check for toxic metabolic products of these fungi. There is no definite dose limit for the presence of arsene in rice or similar products yet. For the dangerous heavy metal how cadmium there are restrictions for rice or grain in the amount of 0.2 mg/kg.

Also for acrylamide there are no indications in terms of the upper limit of its presence in products or the dose of its tolerance by the body. But this substance is so harmful that it should be deliberately further minimized - less frying potatoes, crispbread, rice waffles, muffins, etc. I remember one of the nurses deliberately ate the burnt ends she liked. white bread in the toaster and did not want to hear about the harm.

Cadmium is more dangerous than expected?!

Cadmium can be a health hazard and is therefore undesirable in foods. In Russia, many products are contaminated with cadmium; him in more found in seafood (except fish), entrails, wild mushrooms. Mostly in grains and vegetables through food, we get them with food and especially vegetarians who consume a lot of vegetables and grains. For a long time, consumed products with a high content of cadmium lead to kidney damage, bone demineralization (osteoporosis), and cadmium is carcinogenic, i.e. can cause cancer in humans.

The same applies to the mercury content in marine products, for example in fish. organic compounds chlorine as dioxins enter our body almost exclusively through the consumption of fatty animal products.

The use of cadmium above the norm does not mean an indispensable threat to the health of every consumer. The fact is that it makes itself felt in subsequent years, closer to old age. According to the latest data, nevertheless, all measures should be taken to protect all segments of the population, and not just vegetarians, from the danger of cadmium pollution and reduce its content in food products. For example, by reducing its presence in fertilizers or by using plants that accumulate cadmium the least.

I want to admit that for a long time I have been buying some products exclusively in organic food stores, because I do not have my own garden and I live in the city center. Ecologically clean potatoes and wheat contain less cadmium due to the rejection of it in fertilizers, but not always, because cadmium is found in water, soil, and air. It is better to choose foods with less of this poison. For example, rye contains on average 80% less than wheat. Oat groats also helpful. Large-leaved plants like spinach and celery, on the other hand, draw a lot of cadmium from the soil.

As for vegetarians, Dr. Markus Keller, a member of the Scientific Council of the Vegetarian Union, advises to eat more organic products. Products from whole grain useful, although once in their top layer and cadmium accumulates in the embryo, but their useful action greater than the risk of accumulation of this substance. Scientist advises vegetarians to optimize intake of zinc, iron and calcium leads to the accumulation of cadmium in the intestine by the body. Especially vegetarians should take more calcium!

Cadmium mainly falls due to air pollution on agricultural land and due to metal construction. AT mineral fertilizers it ends up in the soil and in addition every year about 400 tons of the battery chemical enters the soil and the environment. According to the environmental agency, only a third of all batteries are correctly disposed of, and the rest disappears in the garbage that is taken out of the apartment and in other ways. I collect batteries and bring them to the grocery where I go shopping and where there are special tanks for used batteries.