The first observations on adverse renal effects of cadmium (Cd) exposure in humans were made by Friberg in the late 1940s
[1]. He reported a high prevalence of proteinuria (65% using the nitric acid test and 81% using the trichloroacetic acid test)
in Cd-exposed workers.
In Japan, an unusual disease named “itai-itai byo” or “ouch-ouch disease” was reported in 1955 [2]. This disease is characterized
clinically by bone and kidney damage. In 1968, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare concluded that itai-itai disease
was caused by chronic Cd poisoning [3].