Soil Cadmium as a Threat to Human Health

Cadmium contamination of soils has been a public concern since the demonstration that soil Cd from Zn mine wastes which contaminated rice paddies had caused excessive Cd absorption and adverse health effects in members of subsistence farm families who consumed rice grown on the contaminated soils (Kobayashi, 1978; Tsuchiya, 1978; Nogawa, 1984; Nogawa et al., 1987). This was the first observation of human Cd disease from soil Cd in the general environment, and scientists looked for potential adverse effects of soil Cd from their soils, agricultural practices, and dietary systems.