POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF DIETARY SOURCES TO URINARY CADMIUM AND BETA-2-MICROGLOBULIN EXCRETION OF OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED WORKERS

To determine the potential contribution dietary cadmium may have toward total urinary excretion of cadmium and beta-2-microglobulin of occupationally exposed workers, 260 residents of the town of Walsall, United Kingdom, who grew a proportion of their vegetable diet in urban garden soils, were studied. Urinary excretions of cadmium were significantly elevated above those reported for the general population (P < .001). For nonsmoking, nonoccupationally exposed residents, urinary excretion of cadmium was found to be up to 34% of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Biological Exposure Index. In evaluating biological monitoring data of cadmium-exposed workers, the potential significance of dietary intake from urban grown produce should not be overlooked.