OBJECTIVETo explore the health status of workers exposed to Cd at low concentration.

METHODSOne hundred eighteen workers of zinc powder finishing and 34 staffs were served as the exposure group and control group, respectively. The physical examination, blood cadmium, urinary cadmium, blood lead, urinary 32-microglobin, urine creatine, chest film, pulmonary function , pure tone teat and were detected for all subjects.

RESULTSTwelve air samples from 6 monitoring points in workshop were detected, the air Cd concentrations were 0.002-0.015 mg/m³, which were under the national limit of occupational exposure. In exposure group, the rates of exceeding standards of blood Cd and urinary Cd were 65.25% and 38.16%, respectively, the rate of exceeding standards of urinary Cd for two times was 27.12%, the rate of exceeding standard of urine Cd for two times plus the positive urinary 32-microglobin was 2.54 %. In control group, the rates of exceeding national standard of blood Cd was 26.47 %, but the values of urinary Cd were normal. In exposure group, the rate of exceeding standards of urinary Cd increased with the service length. Smoking could enhance the rates of exceeding standards of blood Cd and urinary Cd.

CONCLUSIONIn zinc powder finishing, the low-concentration cadmium exposure could cause the occupational cadmium poisoning, the comprehensive protection measures can reduce the occupational cadmium poisoning. It is suggested that the limits of occupational exposure to cadmium should be declined.