Cadmium is a major respiratory toxicant as evidenced by numerous human and animal studies. Controlled animal inhalation studies provide supporting evidence to the associations observed in epidemiological studies that Cd has the potential to cause lung fibrosis, emphysema, cancer, and kidney disease after prolonged exposure. Shorter-term exposure studies indicate that mechanisms thought to be involved in several of these chronic disease states (especially fibrosis and emphysema) are acutely activated. The evidence of toxicity is sufficiently clear that a TLV has been set and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has named Cd as a Group B1 substance (probable human carcinogen). The risk to Cd exposure is enhanced by its chemical and physical properties that result in bioaccumulation. Thus, even a low level exposure over long periods of time would be expected to reach doses that could be toxic.