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Heavy metal pollution in the environment and their toxicological effects on humans
Open accessAbstract
Environmental pollution of heavy metals is increasingly becoming a problem and has become of great concern due to the adverse effects it is causing around the world. These inorganic pollutants are being discarded in our waters, soils and into the atmosphere due to the rapidly growing agriculture and metal industries, improper waste disposal, fertilizers and pesticides. This review shows how pollutants enter the environment together with their fate. Some metals affect biological functions and growth, while other metals accumulate in one or more different organs causing many serious diseases such as cancer. The pharmacokinetics and toxicological processes in humans for each metal is described. In summary, the review shows the physiological and biochemical effects of each heavy metal bioaccumulation in humans and the level of gravity and disquieting factor of the disease.
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![Figure 3 Heavy metal source pathway and human exposure [13].](/paper-figures/26d5be81c4274381b40ae39022b2a19e/heavy-metal-pollution-in-the-environment-and-their-toxicological-effects-on-figure-3.jpg)
![Figure 4 Metal-induced oxidative stress pathways [14].](/paper-figures/d821192a5ec8492fac1569de8a16d0e2/heavy-metal-pollution-in-the-environment-and-their-toxicological-effects-on-figure-4.jpg)
![Figure 5 Chromium formation of free radicals [14].](/paper-figures/9019b72cae174f569ad1219e5bdedbf7/heavy-metal-pollution-in-the-environment-and-their-toxicological-effects-on-figure-5.jpg)
![Figure 6 Cobalt reactions [14].](/paper-figures/9c3dffd44a0a46bea8d89ffcedd3101d/heavy-metal-pollution-in-the-environment-and-their-toxicological-effects-on-figure-6.jpg)
![Figure 7 Copper Fenton reaction [14].](/paper-figures/40002fc22d284bb3841e1abf81116076/heavy-metal-pollution-in-the-environment-and-their-toxicological-effects-on-figure-7.jpg)
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“By affecting the enzymes used in biological remediation or metabolism, metal toxicity can affect the removal of organic substances [46].”
From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [46]
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“Environmental contamination by HMs and toxic pollutants is a growing global concern, posing severe risks to ecosystems, agriculture, and human health (Briffa et al., 2020; Hembrom et al., 2020).”
From Plant hyperaccumulators: a state-of-the-art review on mechanism of heavy metal transport and sequestration (2025) · cites this paper as Briffa et al., 2020
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“Conventional treatment methods, such as coagulation, flocculation, ion exchange, and membrane technologies, while effective, are often hindered by high operational costs, energy consumption, and the generation of secondary pollutants [1].”
From Algal-Based Carbonaceous Materials for Environmental Remediation: Advances in Wastewater Treatment, Carbon Sequestration, and Biofuel Applications (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Briffa, J., Sinagra, E., & Blundell, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Malta (MT)
- Corresponding author
- Blundell, Renald
- Venue
- Heliyon
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- e04691
- ISSN
- 2405-8440 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7490536
- OpenAlex
- W3084100763
- Cited by
- 4,402
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 708 · 2025: 971 · 2024: 1001 · 2023: 832 · 2022: 633 · 2021: 243 · 2020: 8
- FWCI
- 36.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Heliyon (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OAR@UM (University of Malta) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- European Commission
- European Social Fund
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Heavy metals in environment
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- heavy metal contamination, heavy metal toxicity, human health effects, bioaccumulation, pharmacokinetics, contaminant fate, industrial and agricultural pollution, waste disposal
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