Renal cadmium overload without nephrotoxicity.

A redundant nickel/cadmium battery worker was investigated for non-specific fatigue after completing five years in the industry. Sensitive techniques for in-vivo organ cadmium measurement showed a moderate accumulation in the liver but a very large concentration in the kidneys. Despite this, overall glomerular and tubular function were not impaired. It was concluded that the mechanism of proteinuria observed in some cadmium workers is obscure and not clearly related to the degree of kidney saturation with cadmium.