Each year almost 90,000 workers are exposed to cadmium in the United States. Metabolism Cadmium can enter your body from food you eat, water you drink, or particles you breathe in. Very little cadmium enters through your skin. The rest of the cadmium is breathed out or excreted in feces. If you do not eat foods that contain enough iron or other nutrients, you are likely to take up more cadmium from your food than usual.
Cigarette smoke has cadmium in it and so smokers breathe in cadmium.
Other people who breathe in cadmium are people who work with cadmium, and people who live near hazardous waste sites or factories that release cadmium into the air. The general population and people living near hazardous waste sites may eat or drink cadmium in food, dust, or water. Cadmium that enters your body stays in your liver and kidneys. Cadmium leaves your body slowly, in urine and feces. Your body keeps most cadmium in a form that is not harmful, but too much cadmium can overload your kidneys' storage system and cause health damage.