Cadmium and lead elimination through milk in the ewe

Ewes were given daily oral administrations of lead, cadmium or associations of lead-cadmium, lead-cadmium-zinc for 52 days. Lead and cadmium were measured in blood, milk and tissues. About 0.1% of the total lead and 0.002-0.004% of the total cadmium dose was excreted via milk during the lactation, with milk concentrations of about 120 μg/l for lead and about 3.5 μg/l for cadmium. Sixty days after the last administration, 0.16% of the total cadmium dose was retained in liver and 0.09% in kidneys. Cadmium and lead concentrations in the muscle remained low.