Cadmium, zinc, and copper levels in the kidneys and liver of the inhabitants of north-eastern Poland.

Concentrations of Cd, Zn, and Cu were determined in the renal cortex and the liver of 79 persons who died in 1991 in Białystok and its vicinity. The mean concentrations were: 30.5 +/- 27.7 micrograms Cd/g, 37.6 +/- 18.5 micrograms Zn/g, 2.6 +/- 2.5 micrograms Cu/g, and 2.1 +/- 2.2 micrograms Cd/g, 52.4 +/- 20.5 micrograms Zn/g, 4.0 +/- 2.1 micrograms Cu/g, respectively, in the renal cortex and the liver, at the mean age of 51.1 +/- 19.1 years. Smokers showed almost twice higher Cd levels in the cortex than non-smokers. The mean whole body retention calculated for cadmium was 18.9 +/- 15.9 mg. Smoking increases it by about 60%--from 13.7 mg in non-smokers to 22.8 mg in smokers. In the inhabitants of the investigated region cadmium levels (kidney, liver, whole body retention) were lower than in persons from Lodz and Katowice regions.