Cadmium

Cadmium is a soft metal used for plating steel, in batteries, in pigments and in some alloys and solders. When cadmium is heated, cut or ground, it makes fine fume and dust that can damage the lungs and kidneys. A single high exposure can cause serious lung injury, and years of low exposure can cause kidney disease and cancer.

• Construction
• General Industry
• Welding

Where cadmium turns up

• Cadmium-plated parts, such as bolts, nuts, fasteners, fittings and springs. The plating can look silver, gold or yellow. Plating is common on older steel hardware, aircraft parts and marine equipment.
• Welding, brazing, torch cutting and grinding of cadmium-plated or cadmium-coated metal, or using filler or solder with cadmium. See Brazing & Soldering and Welding Fume.
• Demolition, dismantling and salvage of plated structural steel, towers, tanks and equipment.
• Battery manufacturing and recycling (nickel-cadmium batteries), pigments, plastics stabilizers, and electronics recycling.
• Paints and coatings with cadmium pigments, mostly yellow, orange and red colors.
• Cadmium is also in tobacco smoke.

Health effects

• Acute (short-term): breathing fumes can cause metal fume fever-like symptoms: chills, fever, cough, chest tightness and muscle aches, sometimes hours later. Severe exposure can cause lung swelling (pulmonary edema) and death, even days after the exposure.
• Chronic (long-term): damage to the kidneys, which can lead to kidney failure, plus emphysema-like lung disease, bone damage and increased risk of lung cancer.
• Cadmium builds up in the body for decades. Damage can show up long after exposure ends. See Occupational Cancer and Metal Fume Fever.

OSHA’s cadmium standard

OSHA has cadmium standards for general industry (29 CFR 1910.1027) and construction (1926.1127). Key numbers:

• Permissible exposure limit (PEL): 5 micrograms of cadmium per cubic meter of air (5 µg/m³), averaged over 8 hours.
• Action level: 2.5 µg/m³ averaged over 8 hours. At or above it, the employer must monitor exposure and start medical surveillance.
• The standard includes rules on exposure monitoring, regulated areas, respirators, protective clothing, hygiene, training, medical exams and records. See Exposure Limits and Air Sampling & Exposure Monitoring.

Controls

• Find out first. Before heating, cutting or grinding old hardware or steel, test or ask whether it’s cadmium-plated. Look at drawings, ask the owner, or have it tested. Treat unknown plated steel with caution.
• Avoid heat. Use mechanical methods such as unbolting, rather than torch cutting or grinding. Cold-cut or remove plated parts whole.
• Ventilate: use local exhaust at the source, and keep fumes away from your breathing zone. See Ventilation.
• Use wet methods and HEPA vacuums for dust. Don’t sweep dry or use compressed air.
• Respirators: where exposure may exceed the limit, use the respirator your program requires, such as a HEPA-filter or supplied-air type, with fit testing. See Respiratory Protection.
• Protective clothing: coveralls, gloves and boots, changed before breaks and at the end of work, and laundered by the employer.
• Regulated areas with signs and limited access when exposure may exceed the limits.

Hygiene

• Wash hands and face before eating, drinking, smoking or using the restroom. Keep food and drinks out of work areas.
• Shower and change before going home if the employer provides facilities, and keep work clothes away from family. See Take-Home Contamination.
• Don’t smoke at work. Smoking brings cadmium from your hands into your mouth and adds to the body’s cadmium load.

Medical surveillance

• Workers exposed at or above the action level for a set time each year must be offered medical exams, including urine and blood tests for kidney function and cadmium levels, at no cost. See Medical Surveillance Requirements.
• If tests show kidney damage, the standard has medical removal protection that protects pay and benefits while the worker is moved to lower exposure.
• Report cough, chest tightness or breathing problems after any heating or cutting job, even if they show up later that night.

If you think you were exposed

• Move to fresh air, and get medical care if you have chest tightness, trouble breathing or fever. Tell the doctor you may have breathed cadmium.
• Tell your supervisor. Ask for exposure monitoring and your records. See Access to Records.
• Your employer must investigate, and you can contact OSHA if you aren’t protected. See Worker Rights.

Cadmium checklist

• I checked whether the metal or paint contains cadmium before heating or cutting
• I used cold methods, ventilation and wet methods where possible
• I wear the required respirator and protective clothing
• I wash up before eating, drinking or smoking, and change before leaving
• I get my medical tests and report symptoms

Last updated: October 4, 2026