The aim of this study was to confirm the high dietary intakes of cadmium and other trace elements from oysters in a population associated with the oystering industry, and to determine (1) the impact of those high intakes on cadmium concentrations in accessible tissues of the study subjects and (2) the occurrence of health effects in the population resulting from their dietary exposure to cadmium. Methods for the analysis of cadmium in whole blood, urine and hair by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry were established. Seventy-eight subjects participated; from forty-eight of them samples of faeces (3 day), blood, urine (overnight) and hair were obtained both pre-season and end-season (i.e. 6 months later). Questionnaires on oyster intake were administered; dietary and medical questionnaires were administered at the end of the season when height, weight and blood pressure were measured.