Exposure of the US population aged 6 years and older to cadmium: 1988-1994

Cadmium was measured in urine specimens from 22,162 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III 1988-1994). Urine cadmium, expressed either as uncorrected (mu g/L) or creatinine corrected (mu g/g creatinine) increased with age and with smoking. The arithmetic mean value for urine cadmium in the U.S. population was 0.57 mu g/L or 0.48 mu g/g creatinine. Based on our estimates, about 2.3% of the U.S. population have urine cadmium concentrations greater than 2 mu g/g creatinine, and 0.2% have concentrations greatethan 5 mu g/g creatinine, the current World Health Organization health-based exposure limit.