Preliminary Assessment on Risk of Dietary Cadmium Exposure on Residents around a Smeltery

Objectives To analyze the cadmium level in main foods and preliminarily assess the risk of dietary cadmium exposure on people around a smeltery.

Methods Ninety main food samples and 27 drinking water samples were collected from the area around the smeltery. Cadmium contents in foods and water were determined by using graphite furnace atomic absorption method and then the cadmium exposure from main foods was estimated by combining the concentration of cadmium in foods with food consumption data.The health risk of exposure was assessed by comparing the cadmium exposure with provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) and the margins of safety (MOS) for cadmium.

Results The median levels of cadmium in soil, rice, leafy vegetables, root vegetables and drinking water samples collected from polluted area were 0.46 mg/kg, 40.348 mg/kg, 1.148 mg/kg, 1.742 mg/kg and 0.006 mg/L respectively, and those collected from the control area (10 km from the smeltery) were 0.155 mg/kg, 0.104 mg/kg, 0.580 mg/kg, 0.817 mg/kg and 0.009 mg/L respectively. Rice, leafy vegetables and root vegetables contributed a total of 556.123μg/kg and 204.588μg/kg cadmium exposure per month, and the MOS were 0.044 and 0.169 for residents in polluted and control areas respectively. Vegetables, as the most important contributors, contributed about 88.9% and 85.4% of cadmium exposure, respectively.

Conclusions The main foods around the smeltery were seriously polluted by cadmium, which could be harm to the health of local residents.