Cadmium metal, granular

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW Appearance: silver white granules. Danger! Flammable solid. May be fatal if inhaled. Harmful if swallowed. Causes eye, skin, and respiratory tract irritation. Contains cadmium. Cancer hazard. Avoid creating dust. Can cause lung and kidney disease. Inhalation of fumes may cause metal-fume fever. Air sensitive. May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Target Organs: Blood, kidneys, liver, lungs, skeletal structures, prostate.

Potential health effects

Eye: Causes eye irritation. Skin: Causes skin irritation. Ingestion: Harmful if swallowed. May cause gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Ingestion may produce fluid loss, acute renal failure, and cardiopulmonary depression. Inhalation: May be fatal if inhaled. Inhalation of fumes may cause metal fume fever, which is characterized by flu-like symptoms with metallic taste, fever, chills, cough, weakness, chest pain, muscle pain and increased white blood cell count. Damage may be delayed. May cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, chest tightness, weakness, and delayed pulmonary edema. In humans inhalation causes proteinuria, an excess of protein in the urine. Chronic: May cause respiratory tract cancer. Repeated inhalation may cause chronic bronchitis. Chronic inhalation may cause nasal septum ulceration and perforation. Cadmium and compounds may cause lung, liver and kidney damage and lung and prostate cancer in humans. May cause loss of smell, emphysema, anemia, bone demineralization, and lung fibrosis. The primary target organ for chronic cadmium disease is clearly the kidney.