Cadmium in animals -- excerpt from Deadly Deceit, Chapter 9, Risky Risk Assessment
The example of cadmium buildup in livers and kidneys of
the sheep in England points up the fact that it is the
accumulation and retentions of the heavy metals in sludge-
amended soils that can cause adverse health effects in
animals and humans. Synergism can also be a factor.
In 1987, synergistic effects were suspected as the cause
of the loss of calves (26) by the Fleetwood Cattle Company of
Delaplane, Virginia. The calves, whose mothers had grazed on
sludge-amended soil, were either born dead or had
neurological and spinal cord problems. When the University
of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine investigated
the case, they found indications of metal poisoning.
According to the researchers, Dr. Gregory S. Staller and Dr.
Thomas J. Divers, the spinal cord changes in the calves were
similar to those seen with lead and other heavy metal
poisoning "in utero". They also noted elevated levels of
iron in the liver. It was their conclusion that "---a complex
interaction between iron, cadmium, sulfur and copper related
to the sludge-applied pasture may have induced a relative
deficiency of available copper at a time when certain minimal
levels were needed for proper development of the fetal spinal
cord."