Water Education - Contaminants Facts

Drinking Water Contaminants- Cadmium

1 | 2

This is a factsheet about a chemical that may be found in some public or private drinking water supplies. It may cause health problems if found in amounts greater than the health standard set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

What is Cadmium and how is it used?

Cadmium is a metal found in natural deposits as ores containing other elements. The greatest use of cadmium is primarily for metal plating and coating operations, including transportation equipment, machinery and baking enamels, photography, television phosphors. It is also used in nickel-cadmium and solar batteries and in pigments.

Why is Cadmium being regulated?

cadmium

In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires EPA to determine safe levels of chemicals in drinking water that do or may cause health problems. These non-enforceable levels, based solely on possible health risks and exposure, are called Maximum Contaminant Level Goals.

The MCLG for cadmium has been set at 5 parts per billion (ppb) because EPA believes this level of protection would not cause any of the potential health problems described below.

Based on this MCLG, EPA has set an enforceable standard called a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as possible, considering the ability of public water systems to detect and remove contaminants using suitable treatment technologies.

The MCL has also been set at 5 ppb because EPA believes, given present technology and resources, this is the lowest level to which water systems can reasonably be required to remove this contaminant if it occurs in drinking water.

These drinking water standards and the regulations for ensuring these standards are met, are called National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. All public water supplies must abide by these regulations.

What are the health effects?

Short-term: EPA has found cadmium to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps, salivation, sensory disturbances, liver injury, convulsions, shock and renal failure.

Long-term: Cadmium has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: kidney, liver, bone, and blood damage.

How much Cadmium is produced and released to the environment?

2.9 million lbs. of cadmium were produced in the US in 1986, and nearly twice that amount was imported in the same year. Cadmium occurs naturally in zinc, lead, copper, and other ores which can serve as sources to ground and surface waters, especially when in contact with soft, acidic waters. Major industrial releases of cadmium are due to waste streams and leaching of landfills, and from a variety of operations that involve cadmium or zinc. In particular, cadmium can be released to drinking water from the corrosion of some galvanized plumbing and water main pipe materials.

From 1987 to 1993, according to EPAs Toxic Chemical Release Inventory, cadmium releases were primarily from zinc, lead and copper smelting and refining industries, with the largest releases occurring in Arizona and Utah.

1 | 2
What's this? Check "Remember Me" to access your shopping cart on this computer even if you are not signed in.