Bioavailability of cadmium in inexpensive jewelry.

Objectives: We evaluated the bioavailability of Cd in 86 components of 57 jewelry items found to contain high levels of Cd (> 10,000 ppm) by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), using extractions that simulate mouthing or swallowing of jewelry items.

Methods: We screened jewelry for Cd content by XRF. Bioavailability was measured in two ways.