A suggestion on how to use measurements of cadmium in blood as a cumulative dose estimate.

The individual cumulative cadmium dose was estimated for 44 smelter workers in a cadmium-copper alloy plant. Two different principles were used: cumulative respiratory dose and cumulative average annual blood-cadmium dose. Out of eight workers with a cumulative respiratory dose exceeding 500 mg Cd . h/m3, two of them (25%) had signs of a cadmium-induced renal dysfunction. These two men were the only workers that had a cumulative average annual blood cadmium dose exceeding 200 micrograms Cd . year/l. Our results suggest that measurements of cadmium in the blood can be used as an indicator of the cadmium exposure of each individual and that, in order to prevent renal dysfunction, the average blood-cadmium concentration should not exceed 10 micrograms Cd/l over periods of many years (decades).