FATAL CHEMICAL PNEUMONITIS DUE TO CADMIUM FUMES

Acute exposure to high concentrations of cadmium fumes may cause acute chemical pneumonitis with a possibly fatal outcome. The etiologic dia gnosis of acute cadmium intoxication from inhaled fumes may be difficu lt and can be confused with other forms of acute respiratory failure. We report on a case of a fit 53 year-old man who was exposed to cadmiu m fumes after flame-cutting an alloy containing around 10% of cadmium for a period of 60-75 minutes. He developed severe chemical pneumoniti s and died 19 days after exposure.