Ranking of hazard: Cadmium is ranked as ‘severe’ in terms of adverse health effects (Section 3, Table 3) because of its potential to be life-threatening or cause ongoing illness following chronic exposure.
Lead
Lead is found widespread in the environment and also in food and drinks as metallic lead, inorganic ions and salts and organometallic compounds. Lead is not easily extracted from the soil by plants and its occurrence in plants is often due to air pollution, leading to contamination of the plant surface. The occurrence of lead in food and drinks is mainly due to many years of use of lead technology and in particular to the use of alkyl-lead compounds as petrol additives. Lead fulfils no essential functions in mammals, but has a number of adverse effects including neurotoxicity at exposure levels that may be reached fairly easily.
Exposure to lead can affect many different organ systems, the most sensitive being the nervous system of children. Humans are exposed to lead via multiple exposure pathways with a significant route via food where lead contaminated soil and dust find its way into the food and water supply.
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