Protecting Puerto Rico’s Workforce from Cadmium, Lead, and Other Heavy Metal Exposures

Zimmetry Environmental provides industrial hygiene, environmental, and material testing, training, consulting, and compliance services to identify and mitigate contact with hazardous substances in the workplace.

Bayamon, Puerto Rico – WEBWIRE – Monday, April 7, 2025

While cadmium provides many benefits to industry, OSHA warns that cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic.

Cadmium is a natural element that is usually found as a mineral combined with other elements. It is an important metal for many industrial processes. Due to its many attributes, cadmium has had numerous uses over the years, including in batteries, solar cells, pigments, alloys, metal coatings, and plastics.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

Worker exposure to cadmium can occur in all industry sectors but mostly in manufacturing and construction. Workers may be exposed during smelting and refining of metals, and manufacturing batteries, plastics, coatings, and solar panels. The expanding Ni-Cd battery recycling industry is a concern for cadmium exposure. Electroplating, metal machining, welding and painting are operations associated with cadmium exposure. Workers involved in landfill operations, the recycling of electronic parts, or the recycling of plastics may be exposed to cadmium. Compost workers and waste collectors are also potentially exposed to dust which may contain cadmium. The incineration of municipal waste is another source of cadmium exposure.

While cadmium provides many benefits to industry, OSHA warns that cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic, said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. Exposure to this metal is known to cause cancer and targets the bodys cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Workers can be exposed to cadmium by breathing in dusts, fumes, or mists containing it. Cadmium or cadmium compounds can also get on the skin, contaminate clothing or food, and be ingested.

To help protect workers from exposure, OSHA has set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for cadmium. Zimmetry Environmental is also dedicated to helping businesses in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean safeguard their employees from issues caused by contact with cadmium, lead, and other heavy metals and hazardous substances. Their industrial hygiene and environmental professionals offer comprehensive testing, consulting, and training services to identify and mitigate these types of occupational exposures. These services are vital for protecting workers while also helping to keep companies and institutions in regulatory compliance. Zimmetry has even sponsored an educational video about cadmium and occupational exposure risks that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/MyaF9xJzTd0

To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental and indoor air quality, environmental, occupational, and compliance resources, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email [email protected].

About Zimmetry Environmental

Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals, and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs, and general environmental consulting services.

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Paul Cochrane
President
Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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