Kidney
Organ / systemThe body's filtration plant — which means it takes the brunt of many toxic exposures.
What toxicants do here
The kidney's filtering tubules concentrate metals like cadmium and uranium, which injures them and causes the body to leak protein and minerals into the urine.
Damage is often silent for years and may not show on a basic blood test until function has already dropped.
What targets it — tap to learn each one
Kidney cancer is presumptive (PACT Act, Camp Lejeune); ATSDR links cadmium, lead, solvents, and PFAS to non-cancer kidney injury.
Silent kidney decline drives blood-pressure and mineral problems and can progress to chronic kidney disease. Early monitoring (eGFR, urine protein) catches it sooner.
Bring this to your clinician and your VSO — they decide what testing and care, if any, is right for you. For general, whole-person ways to support your body, see Whole health.
Drafted from the government's and science's own record — VA presumptive lists (PACT Act, 38 CFR, Camp Lejeune), ATSDR ToxFAQs, IARC, and NTP. Sources are cited on every page, and this library has not yet been reviewed by a named clinician or toxicologist. This is documentation to bring to your clinician and VSO — not a diagnosis, a treatment plan, or a determination of service connection. Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1.