 There have been a few instances of general population poisoning as the result of long @-@ term exposure to cadmium in contaminated food and water , and research into an estrogen mimicry that may induce breast cancer is ongoing . In the decades leading up to World War II , mining operations contaminated the <unk> River in Japan with cadmium and traces of other toxic metals . As a consequence , cadmium accumulated in the rice crops along the riverbanks downstream of the mines . Some members of the local agricultural communities consumed the contaminated rice and developed itai @-@ itai disease and renal abnormalities , including <unk> and <unk> . 
