Assessment of cadmium and lead exposure in rural residents dwelling around a metal smelter

Objective To study lead and cadmium exposure through dietamong rural residents dwelling a round a metal smelter and to provide scientific basis for the control of heavy metal contamination.Methods Rice,vegetable,fruit,chicken,and duck samples were randomly collected fromareas around the metal smelter.The concentrations of cadmium and lead in the samples were detected and asse ssed.Results Based on the national criterion for contaminants in food(GB₂762-2005),the exceed ing rates of cadium for the rice,poultry,and vegetable samples were 100%(31 samples),100%(6),and 85.7% (12/14)and those of lead for the rice,vegetable,poultry,and fruit were 100%(31),100%(14),60.0%(15/25),and 33.3(4/12),respectively.The 95.0% and 97.5% percentile intake of cadmium were 14.0 and 15.4 tmie shigher than the amount of occeptable daily in take(ADI),and those of lead were 5.3 and 5.6 tmies than the amount of ADI,among the residents.Conclusion The intakes of lead and cadm ium through edible agricultural products exceed ADI among there sidents dwelling around the metal smelter and there are health risks induced by cadmium and lead contamination.