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1358721 
Journal Article 
The possible role of direct ingestion on the overall absorption of cadmium or arsenic in workers exposed to cadmium oxide or arsenous oxide dust 
Roels, H; Buchet J-P; Truc, J; Croquet, F; Lauwerys, R 
1982 
Yes 
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
ISSN: 0271-3586
EISSN: 1097-0274 
HEEP/84/00671 
3 
1 
53-66 
eng 
HEEP COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS. Six volunteers (2 office and 4 Cd-exposed workers, all nonsmokers) from an electric condenser factory participated in a study involving the measurement of Cd in air and dust, the evaluation of hand and mouth contamination by Cd, and the determination of fecal Cd. The mean levels of total airborne Cd measured with static and personal samplers were for the exposed workers 9.5 and 16.7 mug/m3, respectively, and for the office workers 0.3 and 0.5 mug/m3, respectively. In the office workers, hand contamination by Cd hardly changed over the workday (10 mug/hand); in the exposed workers important hand contamination by Cd was observed (up to 1200 mug/hand during the workday and up to 300 mug/hand before lunch or before leaving the factory). Mouth contamination by Cd was similar in both groups on Monday morning, but increased 20- to 50-fold on Friday afternoon in the Cd workers against a slight increase for the office workers. The concentration of Cd in the feces was not much different between Sunday and Friday in the office workers; in the exposed workers it was higher on Friday than on Sunday. There was suggestive evidence from a comparative study of fecal Cd in 2 Cd-exposed volunteers who had carried out their jobs with and without gloves that direct Cd intake from hand contamination may have contributed to the overall Cd absorption. A limited study in a glassware factory (As2O3 exposure) involving the measurement of total airborne As, the determination of urinary As, and the evaluation of hand and mouth contamination by As before and after the workshift suggested that the high urinary As levels (300 mug/g creatinine) were likely to be more related to an increased oral intake from contaminated hands than to an increased absorption from the lungs.