This paper presents a study about the sorption of the cadmium-diethyldithiocarbamate [Cd(II)-DDTC] complex onto polyurethane foam (PUF). It was observed that the maximum sorption of Cd(H) (80 or 150 mug L-1) was verified at pH 6.8 in the presence of 4.5 x 10(-5) mol L-1 DDTC. The shaking time needed to achieve the equilibrium was 40 min. From these data, a kinetic characterization was performed by applying three models, which revealed that a film-diffusion process was a rate-determining mechanism. Results also indicated that an ether-like solvent extraction was the sorption mechanism. The investigation of many metallic ions as concomitants showed that the sorption by foam is relatively selective and it can be enhanced by using a suitable masking agent or incrementing the foam mass.