Distribution of cadmium in the food chain (soil-plant-human) of a cadmium exposed area and the health risks of the general population

Since 1960, extensive cadmium emissions from a factory producing fluorescent substances and cadmium pigments resulted in cadmium accumulation in the urban area of Bad Liebenstein. We show cadmium exposure of soils and plants in Bad Liebenstein and the meadows near the Grumbach brook. Lettuce and parsley from Bad Liebenstein contained 6- and 9-fold levels of cadmium (2140 and 1194 micrograms/kg dry matter) when compared with control plants. Vegetables from gardens in the immediate vicinity of the Grumbach brook contained cadmium levels which partly exceeded the limit values of the Federal Office of Health. The cadmium status of the inhabitants of Bad Liebenstein was tested by means of hair, whole blood and urine samples. The values were within the normal range (389 micrograms/kg dry matter hair; 1.06 micrograms/l whole blood; 0.24 microgram/l urine). In a duplicate study, the cadmium intake amounted to 10 micrograms/day in men and to 9 micrograms/day in women, which is only 12 or 15% of the WHO limit value. Hence, it follows that the cadmium exposure of soils and flora is not reflected in the food chain of the inhabitants of Bad Liebenstein and health risks caused from cadmium can be excluded.