Environmental Health Criteria 135 Cadmium environmental aspects Please note that the layout and pagination of this web version are not identical with the printed version. Cadmium - environmental aspects (EHC 135, 1992) INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON CHEMICAL SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA 135 CADMIUM - ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS This report contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, or the World Health Organization. Published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization First draft prepared by Dr S. Dobson, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, United Kingdom World Health Orgnization Geneva, 1992 The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) is a joint venture of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization. The main objective of the IPCS is to carry out and disseminate evaluations of the effects of chemicals on human health and the quality of the environment. Supporting activities include the development of epidemiological, experimental laboratory, and risk-assessment methods that could produce internationally comparable results, and the development of manpower in the field of toxicology. Other activities carried out by the IPCS include the development of know-how for coping with chemical accidents, coordination of laboratory testing and epidemiological studies, and promotion of research on the mechanisms of the biological action of chemicals. WHO Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Cadmium : environmental aspects. (Environmental health criteria ; 135) Page 1 of 100 Cadmium - environmental aspects (EHC 135, 1992) 1.Cadmium - toxicity 2.Environmental exposure I.Series ISBN 92 4 157135 7 (NLM Classification: QV 290) ISSN 0250-863X The World Health Organization welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the Office of Publications, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, which will be glad to provide the latest information on any changes made to the text, plans for new editions, and reprints and translations already available. (c) World Health Organization 1992 Publications of the World Health Organization enjoy copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. CONTENTS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR CADMIUM - ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS 1. SUMMARY 2. IDENTITY, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, AND ANALYTICAL METHODS 2.1. Physical and chemical properties 2.2. Analytical procedures 2.2.1. Sampling and preparation 2.2.2. Quantitative instrumental methods 3. NATURAL OCCURRENCE AND SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION 3.1. Natural occurrence 3.2. Industrial uses 3.3. Sources of environmental cadmium 3.3.1. Sources of atmospheric cadmium 3.3.2. Sources of aquatic cadmium 3.3.3. Sources of terrestrial cadmium 3.4. Environmental transport and distribution 3.4.1. Atmospheric deposition 3.4.2. Transport from water to soil 3.5. Concentrations in various biota 3.5.1. Concentrations in fish 3.5.2. Concentrations in sea-birds Page 2 of 100 Cadmium - environmental aspects (EHC 135, 1992) 3.5.3. Concentrations in sea mammals 3.6. Concentrations adjacent to highways 3.7. Concentrations from industrial sources 4. KINETICS AND METABOLISM 4.1. Uptake 4.1.1. Uptake from water by aquatic organisms 4.1.1.1 Microorganisms 4.1.1.2 Aquatic molluscs 4.1.1.3 Other aquatic invertebrates 4.1.1.4 Fish 4.1.1.5 Model aquatic ecosystems 4.1.1.6 Uptake from aquatic sediment 4.1.1.7 Uptake from food relative to uptake from water 4.1.2. Uptake by terrestrial organisms 4.1.2.1 Uptake into plants 4.1.2.2 Terrestrial invertebrates 4.1.2.3 Birds 4.2. Distribution 4.2.1. Aquatic organisms 4.2.2. Terrestrial organisms 4.2.2.1 Terrestrial plants 4.2.2.2 Terrestrial invertebrates 4.3. Elimination 4.4. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification 5. TOXICITY TO MICROORGANISMS 5.1. Aquatic microorganisms 5.1.1. Freshwater microorganisms 5.1.2. Estuarine and marine microorganisms 5.2. Soil and litter microorganisms 6. TOXICITY TO AQUATIC ORGANISMS 6.1. Toxicity to aquatic plants 6.2. Toxicity to aquatic invertebrates 6.2.1. Acute and short-term toxicity 6.2.1.1 Effects of temperature and salinity on acute toxicity 6.2.1.2 Effect of water hardness 6.2.1.3 Effect of organic materials and sediment 6.2.1.4 Lifestage sensitivity 6.2.1.5 Other factors affecting acute and short-term toxicity 6.2.2. Long-term toxicity 6.2.3. Reproductive effects 6.2.4. Physiological and biochemical effects 6.2.5. Behavioural effects 6.2.6. Interactions with other chemicals 6.2.7. Tolerance 6.2.8. Model ecosystems 6.3. Toxicity to fish 6.3.1. Acute and short-term toxicity 6.3.2. Reproductive effects and effects on early life stages 6.3.3. Metabolic, biochemical and physiological effects 6.3.4. Structural effects and malformations 6.3.5. Behavioural effects 6.3.6. Interactions with other chemicals 6.4. Toxicity to amphibia Page 3 of 100 Cadmium - environmental aspects (EHC 135, 1992) 7. TOXICITY TO TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS 7.1. Toxicity to terrestrial plants 7.1.1. Toxicity to plants grown hydroponically 7.1.2. Toxicity to plants grown in soil 7.1.3. In vitro physiological studies 7.2. Toxicity to terrestrial invertebrates 7.3. Toxicity to birds 7.3.1. Acute and short-term toxicity 7.3.2. Reproductive effects 7.3.3. Physiological effects 7.3.4. Behavioural effects 7.4. Toxicity to wild small mammals 8. EFFECTS IN THE FIELD 8.1. Tolerance 8.2. Effects close to industrial sources and highways 8.3. Effects on fish 8.4. Effects on sea-birds 9. EVALUATION 9.1. General considerations 9.2. The aquatic environment 9.3. The terrestrial environment 10. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT 11. FURTHER RESEARCH REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 APPENDIX 3 APPENDIX 4 APPENDIX 5 RESUME RESUMEN WHO TASK GROUP ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR CADMIUM - ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS Members Dr L.A. Albert, Consultores Ambientales Asociados, S.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico Dr J.K. Atherton, Toxic Substances Division, Directorate for Air, Climate and Toxic Substances, Department of the Environment, London, United Kingdom Dr R.W. Elias, Trace Metal Biogeochemistry, Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Page 4 of 100 Cadmium - environmental aspects (EHC 135, 1992) Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA Dr A.H. El-Sebae, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt Dr R. Koch, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany Professor Y. Kodama, Department of Environmental Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan School of Medicine, Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Japan Dr P. Pärt, Department of Zoophysiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden Dr J.H.M. Temmink, Department of Toxicology, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands ( Chairman) Secretariat Dr S. Dobson, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom ( Rapporteur) Dr M. Gilbert, International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ( Secretary) Mr P.D. Howe, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom NOTE TO READERS OF THE CRITERIA DOCUMENTS Every effort has been made to present information in the criteria documents as accurately as possible without unduly delaying their publication. In the interest of all users of the Environmental Health Criteria documents, readers are kindly requested to communicate any errors that may have occurred to the Director of the International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, in order that they may be included in corrigenda. * * * A detailed data profile and a legal file can be obtained from the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland (Telephone No. 7988400 or 7985850). ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR CADMIUM - ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS A WHO Task Group on Environmental Health Criteria for Cadmium - Environmental Aspects met at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE), Monks Wood, United Kingdom, from 13 to 17 May 1991. Dr M. Roberts, Director, ITE, welcomed the participants on behalf of the host institution and Dr M. Gilbert opened the meeting on behalf of the three cooperating organizations of the IPCS (UNEP/ILO/WHO). The Task Group reviewed and revised the draft criteria document and made an evaluation of the risks for the environment