The victims of this poisoning were almost exclusively post @-@ menopausal women with low iron and other mineral body stores . Similar general population cadmium exposures in other parts of the world have not resulted in the same health problems because the populations maintained sufficient iron and other mineral levels . Thus , although cadmium is a major factor in the itai @-@ itai disease in Japan , most researchers have concluded that it was one of several factors . Cadmium is one of six substances banned by the European Union 's Restriction on Hazardous Substances ( RoHS ) directive , which regulates hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment but allows for certain exemptions and exclusions from the scope of the law . The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified cadmium and cadmium compounds as carcinogenic to humans . Although occupational exposure to cadmium is linked to lung and prostate cancer , there is still a substantial controversy about the carcinogenicity of cadmium in low environmental exposure . Recent data from epidemiological studies suggest that intake of cadmium through diet associates to higher risk of endometrial , breast and prostate cancer as well as to osteoporosis in humans . A recent study has demonstrated that endometrial tissue is characterized by higher levels of cadmium in current and former smoking females .